The grid operator forecasted record energy demand in the coming days as temperatures climb even higher across Texas.
The Texas energy grid’s governing agency has issued another Weather Watch as forecasts even higher temperatures across the state in the coming days.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) posted the watch Friday afternoon, warning that multiple days of scorching temperatures forecasted in the next week threaten to push energy demand to another record-setting figure. The watch starts Sunday, Aug. 6 and lasts through Mon., Aug. 7.
On Tuesday, Texas set a new all-time demand record of 83,593 MW, the latest of at least six all-time demand records set so far this summer. The agency’s six-day supply and demand dashboard forecasts demand will eclipse that mark multiple times next week as of Friday afternoon.
“Grid conditions are normal when we issue a Weather Watch,” ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said following the first Weather Watch of the summer on June 14. “ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid and will continue our reliability-first approach to operations, always prioritizing grid reliability,” Vegas continued.
The latest warning comes as experts predict several consecutive days of especially brutal temperatures in Texas next week. The National Weather Service’s Houston and Galveston Office issued an excessive heat warning for several Houston-area counties Friday, as heat index values soar into the 113-degree range in areas north of I-10 and east of I-45. Harris County remains under an excessive heat watch lasting through 10 p.m. Saturday, with heat indices hovering around 107 to 112 degrees across the Houston metro area.
