Texas narrowly avoided rolling blackouts on Wednesday and Thursday, according to multiple reports.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator, declared a “stage 2” emergency on Wednesday, which is one level below declaring a need for rolling blackouts, according to The Wall Street Journal. Then, on Thursday, the Department of Energy (DOE) declared a state of energy emergency for ERCOT as sustained high temperatures kept demand high and pushed the grid dangerously close to rolling blackouts for a second consecutive night.
“At one point around 7:30 p.m. CT Wednesday, ERCOT data showed just more than 1,000 MW of available dispatchable capacity,” David Blackmon, a 40-year veteran of the oil and gas business who now writes and consults on energy, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Had a single high-capacity natural gas or coal plant experienced a failure during that time, blackouts would have resulted.” (RELATED: Winter Storm Causes Frozen Turbines, Massive Blackouts In Texas)
TXANS Update—September 7, 2023: The Conservation Appeal ended at 9 p.m. Grid conditions are expected to be normal and can be monitored on https://t.co/qI0IdnNJEI. Thank you to Texas residents and businesses for your conservation efforts, which along with improved wind conditions…
— ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) September 8, 2023
ERCOT requested that customers decrease their energy use on both Wednesday and Thursday evening in order to conserve energy and diminish the strain on its grid, according to the Dallas Morning News. The grid operator has made 11 such conservation appeals this summer, according to local outlet NBC 5.
“Until Texas power generators relent on their (Environmental, Social and Governance) virtue signaling and build adequate dispatchable thermal capacity, the Texas grid will remain extremely difficult to manage,” Blackmon told the DCNF.
Besides the heat, low wind generation and diminishing solar production due to the sunset contributed to the strain on the grid, according to ERCOT. The grid faced a threat from relatively low reserves, an ERCOT spokesperson told the DCNF.
“The grid is currently operating under normal conditions, the ERCOT spokesperson told the DCNF. “ERCOT continues to monitor conditions and will keep the public informed through our communications channels.”
The spokesperson also referred the DCNF to a statement issued Thursday which stated that “ERCOT issued an Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 (EEA 2) and entered into emergency operations to maintain reliability of the grid. Power outages associated with the ERCOT power grid were not called for and were not necessary.”
ERCOT on Thursday took additional precautionary measures by requesting an order from the DOE, which was granted, that allows generating units within the ERCOT interconnection to operate up to their maximum generation output levels, if needed, and promptly respond if conditions warranted.
DOE’s emergency order will remain in place until 9 p.m. local time on Friday. ERCOT serves about 90% of Texas’ customers, according to its website.
“High demand, lower wind generation, and the declining solar generation during sunset led to lower operating reserves on the grid and eventually contributed to lower frequency,” Pablo Vegas, ERCOT’s CEO, said of Wednesday’s situation.
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