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Grid manager assures ample electric power for Texas summer
May 6, 2021
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) The group that manages the grid that provides electric power to most of Texas assured Thursday that its latest assessment showed the grid was expected to provide sufficient power to meet peak summer demand.
However, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said in a statement that it expected record-breaking demand for electric power that could mean tight supply reserve margins.
ERCOT predicted a demand peak of 77,144 megawatts this summer against a total generating resource capacity of 86,862 megawatts.
“While the risk for emergency conditions remains low this summer based on many of the scenarios studied, a combination of factors in real time, including record demand, high thermal generation outages and low wind/solar output could result in tight grid conditions,” Woody Rickerson, ERCOT s vice president of grid planning and operations, said in the statement. �
Gov. Greg Abbott declared reform of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to be an emergency legislative item Feb. 16 and called on the Legislature to investigate the council. ERCOT, which was largely criticized for its role in the February storm, manages the flow of electric power to more than 26 million Texas customers and represents about 90% of the state’s electric load, according to the electric nonprofit.
The first of the major bills is Senate Bill 3, authored by Schwertner. It adds winterization requirements to energy-generating infrastructure with a $1 million fine per day, he said. Municipal-owned utilities, such as in Georgetown or Austin, and energy companies, such as Pedernales Electric Cooperative or Oncor Electric Delivery, would not be treated differently.
ERCOT says Texas risk of summer blackouts low despite high power demand Bob Sechler, Austin American-Statesman
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Texans shouldn t have to worry about power blackouts this summer when temperatures hit triple digits because the state’s electricity grid appears to be in good shape to handle the strain unless, of course, something really bad happens.
That’s the upshot of the latest assessment from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid s operator. The agency said in its final summer forecast Thursday that there will be more than enough generation capacity to avoid grid emergencies under typical conditions, but it also outlined a set of “low-probability, high-impact situations” that could trigger outages.