Texas Tribune 8/2/11ERCOT Rolling Out First Step of Emergency ProceduresAs scorching temperatures continued and Texas electricity use reached another all-time high, the state grid operator initiated the first step of emergency procedures today, seeking power from other grids, including Mexico.
About 20 power generation units, accounting for around 3,000 megawatts of capacity, were unavailable today during unplanned outages, adding to the strain on the grid. Today's temperatures soared well past 100 degrees, and it's not likely that the situation will get better Wednesday or Thursday unless some thunderstorms pass over a major metropolitan area, like Houston or Dallas, to lessen demand.
At a 4 p.m. press call, Kent Saathoff, the vice president of system operations for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, said that if the grid lost another 300 megawatts of power, then ERCOT would call for step two of emergency procedures: cutting the power to industrial customers that, under contract, agreed to be dropped in dire times. That would provide 1,000 megawatts to the system, which was facing demands of nearly 68,000 megawatts — well past yesterday's record-setting high of 66,867 megawatts — this afternoon.
How's that deregulated electric market working for you Texas?
"20 power generation units, accounting for around 3,000 megawatts of capacity, were unavailable" It's obvious that the utility companies are playing some kind of game or they are totally incompetent at their jobs. This is going to be as bad as the cold snap in January. Expect rolling blackouts to come our way. Oh and you just wait for it - the whole blame will be put on the EPA and the new environmental regulations. I just bet ya. :grr: