Will the Texas Power Grid be Able to Meet Demand During Forecasted Extreme Heat?

You’re probably tired of ERCOT being in the news, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change any time soon.

The Texas grid operator’s reliability has been questioned repeatedly since it failed during the deadly winter storm of 2021.

While we haven’t seen the widespread blackouts that we saw during the storm in February of last year, we also haven’t seen temperatures dip that low and stay that way for an extended period of time since then.

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Back in December of last year, ERCOT said the Texas power grid is “more reliable than ever”. Let’s hope they’re right because the grid will be put to the test this weekend.

As of this posting, the temperature is forecasted to be over 100° this weekend, topping out at 106° here in Wichita Falls on Sunday. In fact, temperatures are expected to exceed the century mark in much of Texas over the next few days.

According to KTRE, ERCOT issued an Operating Conditions Notice (OCN) in advance of the extreme temperatures:

ERCOT is issuing an OCN for the extreme hot weather with forecasted temperatures to be above 103°F in the North Central and South Central weather zones.

ERCOT will issue an OCN as the first of four communication levels when they believe an emergency situation could occur.

The grid operator is forecasting record demand this weekend, projecting it will be more than 75,000 megawatts. The record was set in August 2019 when demand hit 74,820 megawatts.

ERCOT expects to be able to meet forecasted demands.