How the Texas Power Grid Braces Against Rolling Blackouts as Summer Heat Looms

It's been decades since state power reserves were as depleted as they are now, according to Texas regulators — forcing them to contemplate the worst-case scenario this summer: rolling blackouts.Such "rotating outages" are a last resort for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, and they've been necessary only three times on record — and never during even the most sweltering of Texas summers.ERCOT is forecasting a peak demand of 74,853 megawatts this summer, 1,300 megawatts higher than the all-time peak demand record set July 19, 2018, when temperatures reached 108 degrees at DFW International Airport.And with backup resources at their lowest levels since the early 2000s, the staff at ERCOT is working to ensure the lights stay on this summer.Inside ERCOT’s command center in Taylor, northeast of Austin, eight staffers work in shifts around the clock to maintain the reliability of the state’s power grid by balancing power generation and loads. Another staff member is stationed in Bastrop, in case anything should happen to the Taylor hub.  Continue reading...