Texas Power Demand Set to Break May Record Amid Friday Heat Wave, Reports Reuters

By Scott DiSavino

Power consumption in Texas was on track to set a new record for May on Friday, marking a second instance of this within the week. The demand is expected to surge again over the Memorial Day weekend as residences and businesses ramp up air conditioning to cope with a heat wave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), responsible for managing the power grid for approximately 27 million customers, reported that the system was functioning normally, with sufficient supply to meet anticipated demand throughout the week.

ERCOT projected that power demand would reach 75,296 megawatts (MW) on May 24 and 75,952 MW on May 26, surpassing the current May record of 72,261 MW set on May 20.

The highest demand recorded for the grid remains at 85,508 MW, achieved on August 10, 2023.

Analysts expect that ERCOT’s electricity usage could exceed this all-time high during the summer, driven by Texas’s economic and population growth as well as increased energy consumption from data centers, artificial intelligence, and cryptocurrency mining.

On a typical day, one megawatt can power about 800 homes, but this number can drop to around 250 on particularly hot summer days in Texas.

Weather forecasts indicate that temperatures in Houston, the largest city in Texas, are expected to increase from 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33.3 Celsius) on Thursday to 99 degrees Fahrenheit by May 27. The average high for this time of year in Houston is generally 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

Over the coming week, ERCOT anticipates that supply will exceed demand by up to 42,500 MW early on the morning of May 26 when solar power generation kicks in. Conversely, it could fall short by as much as 6,600 MW in the evening of May 24 when solar energy production ceases.

This comfortable margin of supply is contingent on current conditions remaining stable; however, ERCOT noted a “sudden loss of generation” totaling 1,438 MW on May 22, which impacted available supplies.

The disruption occurred at a Panda Energy power plant in Temple, Texas, likely due to a tornado that affected the area, according to a report from an energy data and analytics firm.

Furthermore, over 110,000 homes and businesses experienced power outages Thursday morning as a result of storms that occurred overnight. These outages, which reduced overall power demand, followed the restoration of service to most customers who had been affected by severe storms the previous week.