ERCOT Preps for Potential Outages Ahead of Texas Heat Wave

(TNS) — As temperatures are expected to rise into the upper 90s, with a possible high near 98 by Sunday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is expecting a higher demand for energy, which in turn, may result in power outages in North Texas and other parts of the state.

ERCOT said that from Friday through Monday, the company is planning to "deploy all the tools available to us to manage the grid reliably."

"ERCOT is coordinating closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation resource owners and transmission utilities to ensure they are prepared for the extreme heat," a spokesperson from ERCOT said over email. " ERCOT has asked power plants across the region to postpone planned outages and to return from outages already in progress in order to serve Texans this weekend."

Starting Friday, the National Weather Service is expecting temperatures with lows around 65 degrees, which are going to rise into the high 80s. By Saturday, lows will be in the mid 70s before climbing into the 90s and possibly setting record highs for this time in May. The weekend forecast is expected to be sunny.

"[The weekend will be] humid with increasing south winds," the weather service reported. "A warming trend will push temperatures well above normal with some highs around 100 degrees possible."

And although ERCOT officials are planning ahead for outages out of caution, they added that their projections show that there will be "sufficient generation to meet this high demand for electricity."


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