Yfat Yossifor | KERA

Texas power grid operators are preparing for record-breaking demand this week, due to a heat wave that is driving up energy use in the Houston area and across the state.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said Wednesday the grid is currently operating under normal conditions.

"ERCOT continues a reliability-first approach to grid operations and will continue to operate the grid conservatively, bringing generating resources online early to mitigate sudden changes in generation or demand," spokesperson Trudi Webster said in a statement.

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In the Houston region, an extreme heat warning was issued by the National Weather Service for Wednesday as triple-digit temperatures were forecasted along with heat indices, or “feels-like” temperatures, in the 110-115 range. There was a heat advisory on Tuesday.

ERCOT's record demand of 85,508 megawatts occurred on Aug. 10, 2023. The council said the state may have set a new record on Tuesday, surpassing that usage by about 2,000 MW. However, ERCOT cautioned the numbers from this week were still preliminary, and have yet to be confirmed.

In 2023, ERCOT narrowly avoided a power grid failure and rolling blackouts during one of the state's hottest summers on record.

However, University of Houston Energy Fellow Ed Hirs said Texans don't have to worry about grid failures this summer, due to a growth in renewable energy.

"We have more than enough capacity for wind, solar (and) batteries pitching in to meet the ever-rising demand on the Texas grid," he said.

Still, Hirs said the state hasn't solved for higher demand during cold winter nights, when solar power isn't available and wind turbines may not be as functional. As Texas continues to grow in population, the state will need more battery storage to help its power grid remain reliable, both in the winter and summer, Hirs added.

"We're probably going to need new natural gas power plants as well to replace the coal plants that are retiring and to replace the natural gas power plants that also have to retire," he said.

Earlier this summer, ERCOT forecasted record summer demand. The state has seen rising demand for energy as large electricity consumers like data centers and cryptocurrency miners flock to Texas.

"The state has been growing," Hirs said. "The economic engine in Texas doesn't stop for anyone."

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