Texas’ electric grid operator wants you to save power on a day when it will feel like it’s 108

How hot is it on the Katy Trail? THIS HOT. (Vernon Bryant/Staff photographer)

It’s July 30, and you’ll never believe it, but in the middle of a Texas summer it’s supposed to be brutally hot — around 102 today, give or take, with heat index values closer to 105-108 degrees, which just sounds refreshing. Oh — and it’s an Ozone Action Day too. Fantastic.

And now, this just in: “The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), grid operator for most of Texas, is asking electric consumers to limit or reduce electric use where possible during the 3-7 p.m. peak demand hours today.”

ERCOT says that three times this week, we’ve already touched a few July records — and we’ve only just begun our 100-degree days. Says the grid operator, just yesterday we broke 67,000 megawatts for the first time since 2011; on Wednesday, according to ERCOT, “demand stayed above 67,000 MW for three consecutive hours, peaking at 67,590 MW during the hour ending at 5 p.m.” Them’s a lot of megawatts. Not enough to power a flux capacitor, but still. Impressive. Which is why ERCOT’s asking you pull down the blinds and turn your thermostat to 78 or higher.

The reason?

“Although we have been able to keep up with these July records this week, we currently project somewhat higher demand during today’s peak hours,” says Dan Woodfin, ERCOT director of System Operations, in a prepared statement. “Some additional plants have experienced unplanned outages, and we are expecting less wind generation during today’s peak.”

Read more: http://thescoopblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/texas-electric-grid-operator-wants-you-to-save-power-on-a-day-when-it-will-feel-like-its-108.html/