ERCOT-MANDATED POWER OUTAGES PUT STRAIN ON BLUEBONNET MEMBERS DURING FREEZING TEMPERATURES

  

Officials with Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative say the electric load reduction requirements placed on them by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) are putting "an extreme burden" on co-op members.

ERCOT has ordered Bluebonnet and other electric providers to continuously reduce a large percentage of their systems' energy demand, due to the severe winter weather and a reduction in generation capacity.  This has led to continuous periods of rotating outages since early Monday morning.

Bluebonnet General Manager Matt Bentke said ERCOT's requirement has led to members not having enough time in between outages to warm their homes, cook their meals and do other necessary daily tasks that require electricity.  He said, "Turning their power off is the last thing we ever wanted to do.  But we must comply with ERCOT's orders."

According to a release, ERCOT has ordered Bluebonnet to reduce its system's electric demand by up to one-third, and has been consistently more than 100 megawatts during most of the period beginning Monday morning.  One megawatt provides enough electricity for about 200 homes in Texas during cold winter mornings.

Bentke said that Bluebonnet will continue to adhere to ERCOT's order to reduce demand, as failure to comply would place the entire electric grid "in jeopardy of prolonged statewide failure."  It would also leave Bluebonnet subject to market-rule violations that could lead to "substantial sanctions and fines from the Public Utility Commission of Texas."

Based on the weather forecast and information from ERCOT, Bentke stressed the need for members to be prepared for rotating power outages for another few days, saying the cold weather and its impact on the region will last until the end of the week.  He said ERCOT has given no indication of generation capacity increasing to meet demand until temperatures increase.

This is the fourth time in ERCOT's history that it had to resort to rotating outages to ensure integrity of the state's electric grid.  During the last mandatory rotating outage event in February 2011, Bluebonnet members generally experienced outages lasting 15 to 20 minutes, with about an hour or more before rotating back into the outage.  The February 2011 event only lasted a few hours.