Texas grid operator issues voluntary power conservation call due to heat wave By Reuters

(Reuters) -The Electric Reliability Council Of Texas (ERCOT) urged consumers to conserve power between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. CDT on Thursday with demand expected to surge due to a heat wave in the state.

ERCOT, which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers, representing about 90% of the state’s power load, said it also expected lower power reserves due to reduced wind generation.

According to ERCOT’s website, there was enough power to meet current demand, with 7,532 MW of operating reserves available as of 12:13 p.m. CDT.

“ERCOT is not experiencing emergency conditions at this time,” the grid operator said in a news release.

Power use hit 85,435 megawatts (MW) on Aug. 10, setting a record for the 10th time this summer. It was projected to hit 85,318 MW on Thursday and 86,694 MW on Friday, which would be another record.

Day-ahead power prices for Aug. 17 in nearly all ERCOT hubs spiked to more than $3,000 per MW hour (MWh) for the hour ending at 8 p.m. CDT, reaching as high as $3,596.60 per MWh.

Discount Power, a unit of NRG Energy (NYSE:), the largest U.S. retail electricity provider, also requested that its Texas customers conserve electricity between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. CDT.

Temperatures in Houston, the most populous city in Texas, were forecast to reach as high as 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit (41°Celsius) on Thursday, according to AccuWeather.

Extreme weather in Texas has been in focus since a deadly storm in February 2021 left millions without power, water and heat for days as ERCOT struggled to avoid a grid collapse.