Texas heat wave tests power grid with scorching temperatures

Temperatures will top 100 degrees in Texas on Wednesday, prompting the state's power grid to impose limits on usage and a severe weather warning to be issued for millions.

Niamh Cavanagh
·Reporter
·3 min read
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Someone in an orange reflective vest holds a bottle to their mouth.
Standing in the mid-afternoon heat, a worker takes a break to drink in a parking lot in Richardson, Texas, on Tuesday. (LM Otero/AP)

Texas is enduring another unprecedented heat wave, with temperatures hitting triple digits in much of the state. The blistering heat is expected to continue into the next several days, possibly reaching record highs.

On Tuesday, temperatures in San Angelo skyrocketed to 114 degrees Fahrenheit — the hottest ever recorded in the region, USA Today reports. A severe weather alert was issued again on Wednesday, affecting millions of Americans. Several counties are under the highest heat warning set by the National Weather Service.

Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are among the areas under the “Excessive Heat Warning.” NOAA meteorologists predicted the extreme temperatures were “going to be really bad,” warning Texans that the weather was going to become “oppressive.” Texas-based MedStar said it had treated more than a dozen people for heat-related illnesses on Tuesday.

Electricity to be cut back due to record demand

A power facility, surrounded by dozens of power lines, is seen beyond a grassy field with a barbwire fence.
The Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center is coping with high demand due to extreme temperatures across Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

According to the Associated Press, the power grid operator in Texas has called on its nearly 30 million customers to cut back their electricity usage due to the increasingly high demand on the system. The heat wave has caused a surge in electricity as Texans are using air-conditioning to cool down from the blistering temperatures.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it had not been experiencing “emergency conditions” but said a new June record for energy demand was set on Monday. More than 35,000 customers were left without power in Texas on Wednesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us.

Source of heat wave is high-pressure heat dome

Someone shirtless with a towel draped over their head sits in a folding chair outdoors beneath a canopy of trees near a tent and various household items, including a tower-style fan and yellow extension cord.
Dymond Black works on an electric fan while sitting in the shade in Austin. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The stifling heat wave, with temperatures reaching well into 100 degrees, has been caused by a large high-pressure heat dome aloft that has hit central Mexico, meteorologist Victor Murphy told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The upper ridge of the heat dome is producing scorching temperatures of 100 degrees and above for both Mexico and Texas. “North Texans need to be very aware of the heat index, which factors in the humidity to the air temperatures, and which creates a ‘feel like’ temperature,” Murphy said.

New law in Texas to overrule labor safeguards as heat wave continues

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law in Texas that will see labor safeguards, such as short water breaks and time out of the sun, taken away from workers. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The Washington Post reported that a newly signed law in Texas will see labor safeguards, such as short water breaks and time out of the sun, taken away from workers. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott last week, will see multiple local laws, aimed to regulate businesses across the state, removed. Those against the law have stated that by making businesses follow the state codes, rather than local ones, employers could simply bypass guaranteeing protections for their employees.

As Texas continues to set new records for high temperatures, it is important to note that heat protection standards for outdoor workers are set by either states or cities to establish their own rules and not by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Since 2010, more than 50 workers in Texas have died from heat-related illnesses, according to NPR and the Columbia Journalism Investigations.

“If you just address worker safety and do it in a consistent manner, then that should be good for business,” Texas Rep. Maria Luisa Flores told the Post. “You don't want your employees dying from heat illness, because that impacts your business. I think employers should be some of the folks that are for worker protections.”