Texas power use hits record high as heatwave lingers

(Reuters) – Demand for power in Texas hit a record high on Monday as homes and businesses kept air conditioners cranked up to escape a heatwave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for more than 26 million customers representing about 90% of the state’s power load, has said it has enough resources available to meet soaring demand.

Texas residents have worried about extreme weather since a deadly storm in February 2021 left millions without power, water and heat for days as ERCOT struggled to prevent a grid collapse after the closure of an unusually large amount of generation.

Although overall U.S. power demand is projected to ease in 2023 after hitting a record high in 2022, rising economic and population growth is expected to keep boosting electric use in Sun Belt states like Texas.

After setting 11 demand records last summer, ERCOT said usage hit a preliminary 81,911 megawatts (MW) on Monday, which would top the current all-time high of 81,406 MW set on July 13.

That is the fourth record high this summer and will likely be broken again on Tuesday with demand expected to reach 86,575 MW.

One megawatt can power around 1,000 U.S. homes on a typical day, but only about 200 homes on a hot summer day in Texas.

Meteorologists at AccuWeather forecast high temperatures in Houston, the biggest city in Texas, would hit at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) every day from July 17-21. That compares with a normal high of 94 F for this time of year.

    Forecasts for record demand boosted next-day prices at the ERCOT North Hub, which includes Dallas, to a six-month high of $475 per megawatt hour for Monday. That compares with an average of $38 so far this year, $78 in 2022 and a five-year (2018-2022) average of $66.

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