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The state’s power grid operator began its emergency operation Wednesday evening, allowing it to use all available generation to meet demand — putting it closer to a worst-case scenario of ordering rotating blackouts than it has been all summer.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas got through the difficult period without having to call for blackouts for customers to prevent serious grid damage. ERCOT triggered the second of three stages of emergency operations at 7:25 p.m. The emergency situation was lifted 77 minutes later as plenty of excess power returned to the grid to meet demand.
This summer’s intense heat has put network operators to the test, forcing them to repeatedly resort to backup tools to maintain smooth operations. Due to high electricity demand, ERCOT asked Texans to conserve energy 10 times this summer. A decline in wind power was also forecast on Wednesday.
The afternoon and evening hours tend to be the busiest, when people come home from work and turn down their thermostats. Solar power generation, which has increased significantly in Texas in recent years, also declines as the sun sets.
The network operators asked electricity consumers to reduce their electricity consumption between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday. Electricity customers can save by turning up the thermostat a few degrees and not using large appliances such as washing machines and tumble dryers during this time.
ERCOT called on major electricity consumers to reduce their consumption and called on other major U.S. grids to provide whatever help they could. The ERCOT grid, which serves most of the state, has limited connections to the larger grids that serve the rest of the country.
Due to economic and population growth and oppressive heat, the state has broken its electricity demand record 10 times so far this summer.
Rolling outages remain a rare last resort. ERCOT has not called for them since the devastating winter storm in February 2021, when prolonged extreme cold weather knocked out power to millions of homes for days. More than 200 people died.
During this storm, the original plan to cut power for short periods was abandoned when, in subfreezing temperatures for days, numerous power generators suddenly failed, necessitating a widespread power shutdown for days.
If ERCOT had called for power outages again on Wednesday, the location and duration of the power outages would have been controlled by individual utilities. For example, Rudy Garza, president and CEO of CPS Energy in San Antonio, said last month when conditions were tense that outages for their customers would last between 10 and 15 minutes.
Representatives from other utilities said the length of outages and whether there would be a switch would depend on what they learn from ERCOT, which calculates how much demand needs to be reduced to prevent a grid failure.
People with generators should not use them indoors as they emit deadly carbon monoxide.
You can track Texas grid conditions here and sign up for emergency alerts here.
Disclosure: CPS Energy has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. A full list of them can be found here.
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