Texas power grid still strained, but no blackouts expected

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas’ power grid continued to feel strain on Wednesday as 25% of power plant generation remained offline, the grid’s operator said.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas stopped short of calling for energy conservation, something the organization called for on Tuesday. But the agency, which is commonly known as ERCOT, said the market remains “tight” while 33,000 megawatts of generation is offline while generators perform maintenance.

“We may see tight grid conditions due to the large number of generators out of service for planned and forced maintenance combined with low wind and solar output forecasted for today,” said Woody Rickerson, ERCOT’s vice president of grid planning and operations.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said Wednesday that while it doesn’t expect outages, the state’s power grid remains strained for a second consecutive day.

Rickerson said there is some concern for the Rio Grande Valley, where a forced outage at a power plant in the region is further straining ability to provide power there.

On Tuesday evening, ERCOT came close to declaring an emergency, as power production fell short of forecasts amid warmer-than-expected temperatures. That coupled with planned maintenance at a number of power-generating facilities to send power prices to cap levels, bringing back memories the deadly February freeze and statewide power outages.

Power generators typically perform maintenance on power plants in Texas during spring months in preparation for summer, when usage is usually at its highest, ERCOT said.

“Just like maintaining your car, generators must be maintained to keep them running smoothly,” said Rickerson. “ERCOT must balance these necessary outages with serving load during the spring and fall months, especially given increased weather volatility.”