Posts Tagged ‘TX grid operator’

HNewsWire: Texas power plants are operating nonstop as a result of the state’s extreme heat. ERCOT, a Texas-based company, now uses conservation alerts routinely rather than just in extreme emergencies. The design of the system itself, which lacks adequate capacity to keep up with load growth, is the issue rather than the weather. Because of the extreme heat in Texas, the state’s grid operator is directing facilities to operate at a historically high rate, often pushing them to postpone maintenance in order to maintain producing energy. For the time being, this has helped keep the lights on, but the short-term perspective is straining a system that is already close to breaking point. Officials have twice in the last week urged Texans to use less energy in the sweltering afternoons as demand veered dangerously close to exceeding supply. According to Michele…