ERCOT issues conservation appeal for Wednesday due to low wind generation, thermal generation outages

AUSTIN, Texas – Texans are being asked to conserve energy Wednesday evening as tight grid conditions are expected to continue, according to ERCOT.

If safe to do so, Texans should conserve their energy between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Government entities and businesses are also urged to reduce their energy use.

“Similar to yesterday, operating reserves are expected to be low in the afternoon and evening due to a high level of unexpected thermal generation outages and forecasted low wind generation,” ERCOT said in a statement.

CPS Energy issued a similar appeal to San Antonio residents, as the utility declared Wednesday as a “Yellow Day.”

Conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand for a specific period of peak demand time, which is typically late afternoon into the evening hours. Energy-saving tips can be found on the TXANS webpage.

Why the Request to Reduce Usage?

• Wind. Wind generation is forecasted to be lower this afternoon/evening during peak demand time.
• Thermal Generation. High level of unexpected thermal generation outages.

Peak Demand

• ERCOT set a new, all-time, unofficial peak demand record of 85,435 MW on August 10, 2023.
• In 2022, the August peak demand was 78,465 MW.
• This summer, ERCOT has set 10 new all-time peak demand records.
• Last summer, ERCOT set 11 new peak demand records with a high of 80,148 MW on July 20.

According to ERCOT, if you are experiencing an outage at this time, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability. Please check with your local electric provider for more information.

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