TEXAS, USA — Texans are being asked to conserve electricity usage until 10 a.m. Monday by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), if it's safe to do so.
Continued freezing temperatures, very high demand and unseasonably low winds are causing operating reserves to be low Monday, Jan. 15, prior to the solar ramp up.
ERCOT is expecting similar conditions Tuesday, Jan. 16, and will continue to closely monitor conditions and keep the public informed.
Monday’s conservation appeal does not mean the state is experiencing emergency conditions, ERCOT said. Consumers experiencing an outage now means it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability and are advised to check with energy providers for information.
ERCOT requests all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities until at least 10 a.m. Monday.
More tools are being used to manage the grid reliably, including using reserve power, calling on reductions by large electric customers who have volunteered to lower energy use and bringing more generation online sooner, ERCOT said. The agency said it is also working with out-of-state independent system operators and market participants for more power generation capacity, if available.
ERCOT has obtained Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) enforcement discretion, allowing a generator to extend its service/run-time/operations to help meet demand, if needed, and maintain grid reliability.
Energy-saving tips can be found on the TXANS webpage at ercot.com/txans. Monitor real-time and extended conditions at ercot.com.
For more weather information, go to weather.gov.