Texas Power Usage Reaches Monthly Record Amid Heatwave, Reports Reuters

Power demand in Texas reached an all-time monthly high on Tuesday and is expected to surpass that figure on Wednesday as residents continue to run their air conditioning units amid a persisting heatwave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the majority of the state’s power grid, reported that conditions were stable early Wednesday morning. However, at the onset of the heatwave on May 13, ERCOT had to request that consumers reduce their energy usage after several power plants experienced unexpected shutdowns, leading to real-time prices soaring above $4,000 per megawatt hour (MWh).

The extreme weather conditions have triggered memories of the devastating winter freeze in February 2021, which left millions of Texans without power, water, or heat for days during a severe storm. During that crisis, ERCOT struggled to prevent a grid failure as a significant portion of generation capacity was offline.

AccuWeather has predicted that temperatures in Houston, the largest city in Texas, will remain in the low to mid 90s Fahrenheit (around 34 degrees Celsius) from Wednesday through Saturday, notably higher than the average high of 87 for this time of year.

ERCOT reported that demand peaked at 70,804 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday, with expectations of rising to 71,505 MW on Wednesday. Tuesday’s figures surpassed the previous record for May of 70,703 MW, set on May 9, yet remained short of the all-time high of 74,820 MW recorded in August 2019. On a typical day, one megawatt can power approximately 1,000 homes, but on scorching summer days in Texas, that number drops to around 200.

Looking ahead, ERCOT anticipates that continued economic growth will elevate peak demand to 77,317 MW this summer. To accommodate this demand, the grid expects to have approximately 91,392 MW of power resources available.

In the market, next-day prices at the ERCOT North hub, which serves the Dallas area, increased to $98 per MWh for Wednesday, up from $79 on Tuesday.