Officials: Texas Has Enough Energy for Heat Wave
Texas power generators have been preparing for the coming summer season. Photo by Daniel Reese for KUT News.By Olivia Gordon
Last summer’s record heat almost led to rolling blackouts, but officials say the triple-digit temperatures coming soon to much of the state likely won’t overwhelm the system.
Texans will crank up the air conditioning this week, but the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, says even with temperatures forecast as high as 108 degrees, there’s enough energy for the state.
“This is exactly the season that the generators have been preparing for for several months,” ERCOT spokesman Robbie Searcy said. “All the power producers in Texas know that it’s most important to have all of their units available when we start seeing these hot summer days in Texas.”
But this is just the first real heat wave of the summer. Searcy says as the triple digit days begin to pile up, meeting the electric demand becomes harder.
“When we get into a situation later in summer when higher temperatures are sustained over a long time it becomes more difficult to keep generators online, they become stressed,” Searcy said.
Even with last summer’s record-breaking heat, ERCOT did not have to implement mandatory rolling blackouts. The agency says there’s enough electricity to avoid blackouts this summer too, but stressed it’s always a good idea to conserve energy when possible.
