Texas
declared its first power emergency since a deadly winter storm two years ago
and came close to rolling blackouts as soaring temperatures roasted the
second-largest US state.
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,”
the grid operator’s CEO said.
The declaration of a so-called Level 2 emergency late Wednesday came in response
to shrinking supplies of available power and meant the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, had to draw on reserves while
pushing consumers to curb usage.
Texas hadn’t experienced a grid emergency since February 2021, when a historic
freeze triggered blackouts that led to hundreds of deaths, stranded millions
inside freezing homes, and paralyzed the Lone Star State for almost a week.
Conditions deteriorated so quickly on Wednesday that the grid operator skipped
calling emergency level 1. A level 2 emergency means power reserves have
dropped to critical levels and allows the operator to call on more supplies to
prop up the grid. It’s unclear what led to ERCOT call a second-tier emergency.
As the crisis deepened late Wednesday, utilities in San Antonio and the state
capital Austin warned blackouts might be imminent and urged customers to take
conservation efforts such as not charging electric cars and turning off pool
filters. Medically fragile residents who need oxygen and similar aids were
urged to have backup plans in place.
Spot power prices surged to more than the $5,000 a megawatt-hour, exceeding the
price cap, multiple times Wednesday evening, Ercot data show. That was
quadruple the cost of power supplies for that period in the day-ahead market.
via climate science
September 12, 2023 at 02:01AM
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