ERCOT ISSUES ANOTHER CONSERVATION APPEAL FOR 2-9 P.M. WEDNESDAY

  

Texans are again being called upon to cut back on their energy usage as the state continues to bake in extreme heat.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a conservation appeal for today (Wednesday) between 2 and 9 p.m., asking residents and businesses to turn up their thermostats and hold off on using large appliances.

ERCOT does not expect any system-wide outages.

The state’s power grid operator says today’s conditions are likely to be very similar to Monday, when voluntary conservation helped reduce energy use by 500 megawatts.

ERCOT says its decision to ask for conservation comes during record-high electric demand, accompanied by lower-than-normal wind generation, forced outages in thermal generation exceeding what was expected, and reduced solar generation because of cloud cover in West Texas.

The total forecasted demand today is 78,451 megawatts.