To be more prepared for winter weather, power generation and transmission companies have spent millions winterizing their equipment since the 2021 winter storm that caused widespread blackouts across Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) now conducts more robust inspections of many plants and power transmission facilities.
But NBC 5 investigates has learned most of this year’s seasonal winter inspections had not been completed ahead of the bitter cold snap the state is experiencing this week.
ERCOT told NBC 5 that by the end of February 2024, it plans to inspect 450 generation and transmission facilities. But the latest numbers available from the grid operator show, as of two weeks ago, only 126 of those inspections had been completed with 324 inspections yet to go.
So, is that a concern, with frigid temperatures raising concerns again about the readiness of the Texas grid? One energy expert told NBC 5 Investigates those annual inspections are helpful but they are only one part of broader changes made in recent years to better protect people.
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“The really big change since a few years ago was that every power plant operator had to come up with a plan showing how they could perform better in the extreme cold that we had then. And so you had really rigorous set of inspections and really rigorous set of planning that happened after the 2021 storm. And, at least so far, those plans appear to be holding up pretty well,” said Rice University Energy Expert, Daniel Cohan.
In a statement, ERCOT told NBC 5, "Each facility is required to have their winter weather preparations complete by Dec. 1 each year and to maintain those preparations throughout the winter."
ERCOT says that since December 2021, it has conducted 1,774 weatherization inspections. An ERCOT spokesperson said the program is on track to complete all 450 seasonal inspections this winter and will exceed the minimum numbers of inspections required by state rules before the end of the third year of the inspection program.
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Beyond that, ERCOT said it does not comment on specifics of the inspection process and works closely with facilities to make sure they are in compliance.
On Monday, the number of unplanned outages at coal and natural gas-fueled power plants crept up slightly during the day, according to ERCOT’s real-time data dashboard. However, experts told NBC 5 Investigates they did not see any major spike that's was concerning.
ERCOT issued a new call for Texans to conserve power on Tuesday morning from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. ERCOT warned power supplies could be tighter with more families waking up early and heading back to work and school after the MLK holiday at a time when there is no solar power available before sunrise.
If demand spikes and if more coal or gas-fueled power plants suffer weather-related shutdowns, experts said there could be some impact on the grid, although they added it's unlikely the state would see any widespread outages.
“So unless there's a surprise to come then we should be OK. And I think worst case scenario would be a couple, a couple of hours with some small scale disruptions,” said Cohan.
On Monday, the electricity demand was lower than what ERCOT initially forecasted so they ended up with a bigger margin and more reserves than expected.
Grid experts also point out that while it's bitterly cold, this week’s weather is about 10 degrees warmer than conditions in the 2021 winter storm which led to statewide blackouts.
Editor's Note: This article has been updated to add additional information about the total number of weatherization inspections ERCOT conducted prior to the 2024 winter season.
