1y ago

Texas grid operator appeals for conservation as heat wave persists

www.reuters.com Texas grid operator appeals for conservation as heat wave persists

Texas' electric grid operator asked residents and businesses to conserve energy on Sunday as its reserves were expected to decrease during a scorching heat wave that has caused demand to surge.

WASHINGTON, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Texas' electric grid operator asked residents and businesses to conserve energy on Sunday as its reserves were expected to decrease during a scorching heat wave that has caused demand to surge.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued an appeal for conservation from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time (2100-0200 GMT) on its website, saying reserves could run low due to high demand and a lack of wind and solar power generation.

7 comments

I wonder why Texas is the only one with this problem? Maybe the other 47 states who interconnect to each other know something Texas doesn’t

how could they not anticipate the demand in such a static, non changing environment?
- Texas bypasses federal standards in its power grid, all in service of making more money for energy companies in a deregulated business environment. This means their infrastructure is entire shit, which is especially evident during extreme hot and cold weather events.
  Not to say the rest of the U.S.'s power grid is great, but it is at least a step above Texas.

[ERCOT said] reserves could run low due to high demand and a lack of wind and solar power generation.
How odd. I thought they said that wind and solar didn't really contribute anything to the grid ...

It breaks when it’s cold, it breaks when it’s hot, something something about how windmills are the cause of all these problems ¯(ツ)/¯
- The windmills are stealing the wind! It’s not infinite, you know! Those windmills are going to slow the planet’s spin down, and then we’re all going to fly off it! But, I’ve heard if you love Jeebers enough he’ll pull you back down to Earth by your oversized belt buckle (but not in a gay way), so maybe it’s okay.

The One Star (out of five) State

7 comments