The Texas power grid goes into emergency mode to avoid continuous blackouts

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The state’s grid operator launched its emergency operations Wednesday night, allowing it to call on all available power generation sources to stay ahead of demand — and bring it closer than it has been all summer to the worst-case scenario of requiring periodic blackouts.

The Texas Electricity Reliability Board has had a difficult time without advocating for customers to cut off electricity in order to prevent severe damage to the grid. ERCOT triggered the second of three levels of emergency operations at 7:25 p.m., and raised the emergency conditions 77 minutes later, when much of the excess capacity was flowing back into the grid to meet demand.

This summer’s extreme heat has tested network operators, forcing them time and again to turn to backup tools to keep operations running smoothly. ERCOT has asked Texans to conserve energy 10 times this summer due to high energy demand. Wind power is also expected to be low on Wednesday.

The afternoon and evening hours tend to be tighter when people come home from work and lower their thermostats. Solar power generation, which has grown significantly in recent years in Texas, also wanes as the sun goes down.

Grid operators asked power users to reduce their electricity consumption between 6pm and 9pm on Wednesday. Customers can save energy by raising their thermostats a few degrees and refrain from using large appliances such as washing machines and dryers during this period.

ERCOT said it is calling on large energy users to reduce their consumption and asking other major US grids to provide whatever help they can. The ERCOT network, which serves most of the state, has limited connections to the larger networks that serve the rest of the country.

The state has broken the record for energy demand 10 times so far this summer due to economic and population growth and sweltering heat.

Constant outages are a rare last resort. ERCOT has not called on them since the devastating winter storm of February 2021, when millions of homes were without electricity for days as the weather continued to be bitterly cold. More than 200 people died.

During that storm, the initial plan to cut power for short periods was abandoned when several power generators suddenly failed in the midst of days of sub-zero temperatures, requiring widespread power outages for several days.

If ERCOT called for a power cut again on Wednesday, the location and duration of the outage could have been controlled by individual electric utilities. For example, Rudy Garza, president and CEO of CPS Energy in San Antonio, said last month, when conditions seemed tight, that outages would last 10 to 15 minutes for its customers.

Representatives of other utilities said the duration of the outages and whether they would rotate would depend on what they hear from ERCOT, which calculates how much demand must be reduced to keep the grid from failing.

People with generators should not use them indoors because they emit deadly carbon monoxide.

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Disclosure: CPS Energy has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by member donations and corporate sponsors. Financial backers play no role in the Tribune press. Find a full list of them here.

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