SAN ANTONIO – The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas issued a Weather Watch for this week due to high temperatures in the forecast.
The Weather Watch started on Sunday and remains in effect until Friday. No action from Texans is needed during this time, ERCOT said, but the watch acts as an advanced notification for forecasted high demand.
“Grid conditions are expected to be normal during a Weather Watch,” ERCOT said in a news release. “ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid and will continue our reliability-first approach to operations.”
Operating reserves may be lower due to the forecasted conditions.
ERCOT said a six-day forecast shows that there will be an all-time high for demand this week, but there’s enough capacity to meet that demand.
On June 19, ERCOT set a new June demand record of 79,304 MWs. The demand forecast surpasses 79,000 MWs each day this week.
CPS Energy is encouraging people to conserve energy between 3 and 8 p.m. on Monday, as it is Peak Energy Demand Day.
KSAT meteorologist Sarah Spivey said that in San Antonio, we’re forecasting near-record heat just about every day this week. Highs will range from 102 degrees to 106 degrees.
“Beyond the San Antonio metro area, most of Texas will have to deal with triple-digit heat through the weekend,” she said. “This means that demand for A/C will be very high nearly everywhere across the state. The good news is that the pesky heat high will weaken and move east by early next week. It’ll still be hot, but not as intensely hot for the whole state by the first full week of July.”
Natural gas fuels nearly 50% of the current generation; natural resources solar and wind provide 18% and 10%, respectively, according to ERCOT.
To learn about energy-saving tips, click here.
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