The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has said that tight power supplies are possible during late evenings in Texas this summer, as the state won’t have enough on-demand power generation to meet demand during peak hours.
The new forecast of 82 739 MW surpasses what thermal generators can provide. ERCOT said that under normal summer conditions, there should be enough electricity to meet demand. However, after sunset, and before winds pick up in the western part of Texas, supply could be tight.
Pablo Vegas, CEO of ERCOT, said that the tight supply scenario is not guaranteed to happen, but is only a possibility due to supply and demand. He said: “We do expect the grid to be reliable, but we want to be upfront and communicate openly and transparently to all consumers to the kind of risks we do see, and so that’s the purpose of sharing all these different scenarios.”