Texas power grid sees record-breaking demand during heatwave

The Texas power grid operator on Monday forecast demand would reach a record high over the next week as homes and businesses crank up their air conditioners to escape a heatwave settling over the state.

High temperatures in Houston were expected to reach 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36 degrees Celsius) on Monday, according to AccuWeather. Although that is only 2 degrees F above the city’s normal high for this time of year, energy traders noted temperatures were expected to hit the 90s every day from July 22-Aug. 31.

That unrelenting period of extreme weather caused the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid in most of the state, to project power use will reach 74,668 megawatts (MW) on Monday, 74,753 MW on Aug. 1 and 76,908 MW on Aug. 2.

Those peaks would be the highest so far in 2021 and, if correct, next week’s forecasts would top the grid’s all-time high of 74,820 MW in August 2019.

One megawatt can power around 200 homes on a hot summer day.

ERCOT said there is enough generation available to meet current demand and operating conditions were normal.

Millions of Texans were left without power during a deadly winter storm in February when ERCOT imposed rotating outages to prevent an uncontrolled collapse of the grid after an unusually large amount of generation shut due mostly to freezing gas wells and pipes.

While real-time power prices were only in the $70s per megawatt hour (MWh) so far on Monday, traders noted that it was early, and prices will likely rise as temperatures climb.

On-peak power at the ERCOT North hub averaged $208 per MWh so far in 2021 due primarily to price spikes over $8000 during the February freeze.

That compares with an average of $26 per MWh in 2020.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Will Dunham and Marguerita Choy)