ERCOT is issuing another Weather Watch, anticipating record-breaking electrical demand in the coming days due to extreme heat. The announcement comes three days after Texans set another new all-time record for power consumption.
ERCOT, or the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc., is the agency that manages the state's power grid. On Friday they issued a Weather Watch warning for Aug. 6-7 due to higher temperatures, higher demand and the potential for lower reserves.
At this time, there has been no Voluntary Conservation Notice issued.
The Weather Watch was issued only three days after the state set a new unofficial all-time peak demand record of 83,593 MW on Tuesday, Aug. 1.
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ERCOT's 6-day Supply and Demand dashboard is showing the possibility of the all-time peak demand records being toppled again as early as next week.
This summer, ERCOT set seven new all-time peak demand records. Last year, ERCOT set 11 new peak demand records, surpassing 80 GWs for the first time ever.
ERCOT's Weather Watch is an advanced notification that is sent out under normal grid conditions about 3-5 days before a weather event to tell the public there may be a higher demand for electricity due to a forecasted event and that they should pay attention to changing conditions.
In May, ERCOT announced the launch of the Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS) which includes two alerts, the ERCOT Weather Watch and a Voluntary Conservation Notice where Texans will be asked to voluntarily reduce usage during peak times -- if it is safe to do so.
