ERCOT CALLS FOR POWER REDUCTIONS DURING COLD SNAP

  

ERCOT, the power grid for Texas, is asking customers to reduce their electric power usage during this extreme cold spell.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas sent out a message Monday morning that said they were implementing an Energy Emergency Alert level 2.  This means that energy reserves in the state were below 1750 megawatts.

ERCOT said they were deploying ‘load resources’ but that rotating power outages may need to be implemented.  Rotating outages are controlled, interruptions of electric service initated by each utility  when supplies of reserve power are exhausted.  Without this safety valve, generators would overload and begin shutting down to avoid damage, risking a domino effect of a region wide outage.

Wil Holford of the Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative says the warning was necessary for this unusually cold spell but electricity users can stay reasonably warm and safe with a few conservation measures.

The outages are typically limited to 10 to 45 minutes before being rotated to a different neighborhood.  Some customers may experience longer outages if power surges cause equipment failure during the restoration process.  Customers can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment, except for one task light to determine when power has been restored.

ERCOT is urging large consumers of electricity to consider shutting or reducing non-essential production process.

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