Texas Power Demand Reaches Monthly Record Amid Heatwave – Reuters

The Texas power grid announced on Tuesday that it has enough resources to handle demand this week, as residents turn on their air conditioners to cope with unusually high temperatures. Energy use surged to a monthly record on Monday.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the grid for most of the state, reported that demand reached 70,703 megawatts (MW) on Monday. This figure surpassed the previous monthly record of 67,271 MW set in May 2018.

This surge in demand is unexpected, as temperatures in Houston, Texas’ largest city, only reached 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31.1 degrees Celsius) on Monday, slightly above the normal high of 85 F for this time of year. However, temperatures in other areas of the state were significantly higher. For example, San Antonio, the second-largest city, experienced a high of 101 F on the same day, compared to the typical seasonal high of around 86 F.

The extreme weather conditions serve as a reminder of the severe freeze experienced in February 2021, which left millions without power, water, and heat during a dangerous storm. ERCOT worked frantically to stabilize the grid after an unexpected loss of generation capacity.

Looking ahead, ERCOT anticipates that demand will reach 70,758 MW on May 16, slightly exceeding Monday’s record but remaining well below the all-time peak of 74,820 MW recorded in August 2019.

On a normal day, one megawatt can provide power to around 1,000 homes in the U.S., but during hot summer days in Texas, that number decreases to approximately 200 homes.

AccuWeather predicts that temperatures in Houston will rise to the low to mid-90s every day from May 10 to 24.

Despite the high demand, next-day prices at the ERCOT North hub, which includes Dallas, dropped to $75 per megawatt hour on Tuesday, down from $88 on Monday and a six-month high of $164 on Friday.