As heat wave continues, ERCOT asks Texans to conserve energy for third time in a week

Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read
Ron Zobel drinks cold water at a misting station at Republic Square Park in downtown Austin on July 31, when the temperature was 104 degrees. The city set up misting canopies and provided cold water at the square.

The agency that operates the state's power grid asked Texans to conserve their electricity use from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday amid low wind-power generation and high demand for respite from triple-digit temperatures.

The request marks the third time in a week that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has asked residents to reduce their energy use, if it's safe to do so, as the state experiences unprecedented heat waves. The agency issued a weather watch that is in place through Sunday.

ERCOT is not experiencing emergency conditions, according to a news release, but forecasts are showing a high potential to enter emergency operations Thursday evening.

If residents experience an outage, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability, ERCOT said. Customers should check with their electric providers.

How to conserve energy

To save energy at home during the summer, ERCOT recommends residents:

  • Raise your thermostat by a degree or two, if safe to do so.

  • Avoid using large appliances, such as a washer or dryer.

  • Turn off and unplug nonessential lights and appliances.

  • Set pool pumps to run early morning or overnight and shut off during peak hours.

Commercial businesses are advised to turn off any lights and office equipment (or place in sleep mode) when the space is not in use and to turn off air conditioning outside of business hours.

Texas heat wave continues

ERCOT set a new, all-time, unofficial peak demand record on Aug. 10 — and has set 10 new demand records this summer.

Recently, it has felt hotter than 110 degrees in cities in Texas and Louisiana more often than at any time since World War II, a National Weather Service meteorologist told the Associated Press.

Texas’ grid — which failed during a deadly winter storm in 2021 — has so far held up with no outages in the face of unrelenting heat.

Experts have warned that infrastructure can be damaged under the extreme strain of enduring and recurring heat waves brought on by climate change. The heat already has caused water line breaks and road issues in Texas, according to the AP.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Amid heat, ERCOT asks Texans to conserve energy for 3rd time in a week