ERCOT: Texas Electric Grid Ready for Severe Winter Weather

AUSTIN, TX –– As Texas braces for a cold front for the New Year, EROCT has released an update on the winterization reports for the electric grid.

According to ERCOT, the agency has completed on-site inspections as part of the mandatory winterization efforts. The inspections showed the independently-owned electric generation fleet and electric transmission companies serving the ERCOT region are ready for winter weather. 

More than 300 electric generation units were inspected this year –– representing 85 percent of the megawatt-hours lost during Winter Storm Uri due to outages and 22 transmission station facilities.

“Texans can be confident the electric generation fleet and the grid are winterized and ready to provide power,” said Woody Rickerson, Vice President of Grid Planning and Weatherization. “New regulations require all electric generation and transmission owners to make significant winterization improvements and our inspections confirm they are prepared.”

Earlier this year, the state legislature increased maximum penalties for violating weatherization rules to $1,000,000 per day per violation. A final report will be submitted on January 18, 2022.

ERCOT reminds residents that they do not own or operate any electric generation units or electric power lines. The agency is responsible for balancing the supply and demand on an electric grid that serves more than 26 million Texans and represents about 90 percent of the state’s electric demand.

The initial inspections report allegedly indicated some of the generators exceeded PUC winterization requirements. Only ten of the generation resources inspected required some type of correction. 

Of the 22 transmission station facilities inspected, six had potential deficiencies –– most of which have already been corrected.  The items were generally minor things like cabinet heaters out of service or missing weather stripping on cabinet doors on the day of inspection.  Most of these items have already been corrected.

ERCOT will conduct follow-up inspections on the generation and transmission facilities with potential identified issues. ERCOT and its contractors have spent more than 3,600 hours on these inspection-related activities to date.