After ERCOT entered emergency conditions, risk of controlled outages continues

It could be another tight few days for Texas' electric grid.

This week, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas entered level two of its emergency operations, skipping over level one on Wednesday night. KUT reported that this is the closest the Texas grid has come to issuing blackouts since the deadly February 2021 winter storm. ERCOT called for another conservation notice 5-9 p.m. Thursday.

"We could face the same situation tonight, and the risk of ERCOT having to implement controlled outages is very real," Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said in a press release Thursday. "I’m asking folks to please do whatever they can to conserve, but also be prepared."

Temperatures are expected to stay in the 100s for the next few days, although relief from the heat could be coming next week.

More: Texas grid operators continue conservation appeal; here's how to reduce energy at home

Why did ERCOT issue an emergency alert?

Wednesday started as many others have this summer: with a call for Texans to reduce electricity usage due to forecasted tight grid conditions. But at about 7:30 p.m., ERCOT called for an Energy Emergency Alert 2 after its operating reserves started to drop suddenly.

ERCOT issues that alert when reserves drop below 1,750 megawatts and aren't expected to recover within 30 minutes. There are three alert levels, the third of which calls for rolling blackouts.

ERCOT also experienced a sudden drop in its frequency levels, which, per the national standard, are kept at 60 hertz. Matt Mitchell, an Austin Energy spokesperson, said it's uncertain why there was a drop in frequency.

By 8:40 p.m., ERCOT had moved out of emergency operations.

A reduction in reserves happens in the evening as solar power begins to dwindle. It's unclear what caused Wednesday night's drop, but a look at the power generation graph from that night shows that batteries began providing more power to the grid at about the same time.

"A key part of the story is that it’s hotter at 8 PM than it used to be," Michael Webber, a University of Texas mechanical engineering professor, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. "After more than two months of high temperatures, the streets, sidewalks building materials and soil all become hotter and therefore keep the temps higher for longer after sundown."

How did ERCOT respond to the emergency?

As part of the emergency alert, ERCOT began releasing additional reserves online, working with out-of-state operators to get more energy online and using a "demand response" program — which is typically a financial incentive paid to large power users to conserve energy.

"Controlled outages may be needed to protect the electric system," ERCOT said in an email Wednesday night.

Mitchell said that when ERCOT enters emergency operations, large customers in Austin such as Samsung are paid through ERCOT to reduce their power usage. Many commercial businesses are a part of this demand response program in the city, and he said they all participated Wednesday.

A CNBC report this week found that a Bitcoin miner in Texas was paid $31.7 million in energy credits by ERCOT to shut down in August.

ERCOT told the American-Statesman past calls for conservation have seen reductions of 500 megawatts.

ERCOT did not answer the Statesman's questions about what caused Wednesday's drop in frequency and how close the grid operator came to calling for rolling blackouts.

"At this time, there is no further information to share," the agency said in an email Thursday.

As for the city, Mitchell said Austin Energy offices turn off their lights and reduce power, and that the utility company ensures that other city offices are doing the same.

Austin Energy customers can sign up for the Power Partners program, which pays customers $25 a year if they sign up to let the utility company automatically bump up their smart thermostat by a few degrees on high-demand days. Mitchell said about 20,000 customers are signed up for the program.

"I understand that it gets fatiguing for all of us to have to go back and consider these notices and these requests," Mitchell said. "They seem to work in some form or fashion. They're keeping us out of the danger zone. And we managed to escape more severe consequences last night."

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: ERCOT calls for conservation a day after entering emergency conditions