AUSTIN – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Tuesday warned of larger-than-normal demand for power due to extreme hot weather expected in the region over May 6-9.
The forecast for the Concho Valley has high temperatures around 104 degrees Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
"ERCOT has asked power plants across the region to postpone planned outages and to return from outages already in progress in order to serve Texans this weekend," the grid operator said.
Drought conditions across Texas are draining resources heading into summer. Reservoirs across Texas, particularly West Texas, are seeing water levels drop unseasonably early because of the lack of runoff from normal rainfall and extreme heat and dry conditions.
Demand for electricity is greater in Texas when the state experiences extreme heat events because more power is needed to run air conditioning and other cooling appliances like refrigerators and freezers, ice cream machines, etc.
ERCOT said it projects sufficient generation to meet this high demand for electricity and is coordinating closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation resource owners and transmission utilities to ensure they are prepared for the extreme heat.
Texas appears to be headed back into a severe extended drought as extreme heat and lack of rainfall become more widespread.
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