ERCOT again warns Texans it may be forced to resort to rolling blackouts

While the operator of the state’s power grid managed to avoid rolling blackouts Wednesday night through emergency measures, the nail biting isn’t over.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees the state’s stand-alone electrical grid, warned that power demand is again likely to outstrip supply from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Thursday. That could force officials to order rolling blackouts to avoid crippling the grid.

“ERCOT is issuing a Watch for a projected reserve capacity shortage with no market solution available for Thursday, September 07, 2023, HE 19:00 – 20:00, which causes a risk for an EEA event,” the operator said in an email alert.

For those not up on the nomenclature, an EEA is an “Energy Emergency Alert,” a period during which ERCOT’s power reserves drop so low that it can’t operate the grid under normal conditions.

To help stave off rolling blackouts on Wednesday, ERCOT asked large customers to slash their power consumption, which helped reduce demand. Even so, the state still endured a 77-minute emergency during which it was unclear whether outages might be necessary, the Texas Tribune reports. 

ERCOT officials didn’t say in their latest alert whether they expect the grid to be severely taxed beyond Thursday. Weather services are forecasting temperatures above 100 degrees until next Tuesday.

The state has broken its power demand record 10 times so far this summer due to a combination of higher demand and the scorching summer heat, according to the Texas Tribune. ERCOT has also asked power customers to cut their demand 10 times this summer amid high demand.

The Republican-controlled Texas Legislature approved new rules governing the grid after blackouts during Winter Storm Uri, which left millions without power and hundreds dead. However, consumer groups charge that those didn’t go far enough and avoided regulations on power generators and other corporate interests.

Wednesday’s emergency renewed complaints about state lawmakers’ unwillingness to enact meaningful reforms and to connect the state’s power grid with those serving the rest of the nation. 

“Electricity is a basic component of civilized life, and the fact that Texans face this threat on the regular is a clear sign of the abject failure of decades of Republican statewide officials to put people over profits,” Chris Mosser, podcasting director at Progress Texas, said in an emailed statement.

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This article appears in Sep 6-19, 2023.