How grid weathered record electricity demand

ERCOT credits careful planning

This summer was supposed to be brutal, with days of tripledigit temperatures, less generating capacity and predictions the power grid couldn’t support the state’s electricity needs. Some of the dire warnings were spot on, as Texas broke records for heat and electricity use during the heat wave last month.

But regulators didn’t call for consumers to cut back. The lights stayed on. And wholesale prices didn’t spike as high as some feared.

Power experts figure it will take months for state regulators to report on whether there was any behind the scenes drama during the hour-by-hour power surges during the July heat wave, which pushed temperatures across Texas above 100 degrees. At the moment, though, the state’s grid manager, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, credits careful planning for weathering conditions that tested grid reliability in Texas.

ERCOT said it expected extreme temperatures and took steps to ensure it had enough supply by restricting planned transmission outages during the summer months and conferred with pipeline companies to ensure that natural gas needed to generate electricity made it to power plants.

Generators also responded to the higher prices, which peaked at $2,172.70 per megawatt hour during the hottest days — compared with last year’s average of $28 per megawatt hour — cranking up power plants during the peak demand periods, said ERCOT spokeswoman Leslie Sopko. Consequently, with supplies sufficient to meet demand, ERCOT didn’t have to issue pleas to consumers and businesses to conserve power.

City-owned utility CPS Energy owns its power plants and said it was “prepared and ready” to handle the heat, but CPS also asked customers to

William Luther / Staff photographer The Southwest Key Casa Blanca facility (foreground) operates out of a $1.5 million mansion in the Timberwood Park subdivision.