ERCOT projecting high electricity demand during Texas cold snap next week

A projection from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued Friday showed that electricity demand could near record levels next week during a cold snap beginning Wednesday. ERCOT projects that early Friday morning, demand on Texas’ power grid near what the grid experienced during last year’s deadly winter freeze. The National Weather Service has forecast a strong cold front arriving on Wednesday that will send overnight lows in North Texas plunging to sub-freezing temperatures, according to its forecast for next week. Forecasters are seeing low chances of winter precipitation during the chill. ERCOT has not issued any warnings or conservation calls. However, the grid operator did send out notification to many stakeholders Friday morning indicating that they have begun contacting state agencies and other authorities and are implementing an “aggressive grid management plan,” according to an email obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

An ERCOT projection issued Friday afternoon showed demand hitting nearly 73 gigawatts on Feb. 4. Peak demand during last year’s winter storm was 77 gigawatts. The reliability of Texas’ power grid has been a political issue for Gov. Greg Abbott with opponents on the right and the left attacking him over the system’s near total collapse last year. Abbott has guaranteed the lights will stay on this winter, a pledge that has been echoed by the chairman he appointed last year to the grid’s regulatory body, the Public Utility Commission. Austin-based energy consultant Doug Lewin said that people should be concerned, but that because this weather event as of now shows little likelihood for intense amounts of precipitation, it will not create a repeat of the February freeze. “I only get worried if 75% to 100% of the state is going to be below 32 (degrees) for a sustained period of time and there’s precipitation,” Lewin said.