Texans are being urged to limit power use amid searing heat that’s projected to send electricity demand to an all-time high amid tight supplies.
(Bloomberg) — Texans are being urged to limit power use amid searing heat that’s projected to send electricity demand to an all-time high amid tight supplies.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas called for voluntary conservation efforts on Tuesday in an effort to avoid entering emergency conditions that could entail blackouts, Chief Executive Officer Pablo Vegas said during a board meeting.
Spare electricity supplies are forecast to dwindle to 2% of total capacity by 8 p.m. Central time from about 15% currently, Ercot figures showed.
Households and businesses were asked to curtail power usage between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Power supplies typically tighten in the late afternoon and early evening as solar output wanes.
Electricity prices for the highest demand hours quadrupled to more than $2,500 a megawatt-hour compared with Monday. Demand is forecast to climb to 81.2 gigawatts around 5 p.m. local time, which would surpass the all-time high set during the summer of 2022.
(Adds shrinking spare supplies in third paragraph)
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