(Reuters) – Demand for energy in Texas hit a document excessive on Tuesday for the second day in a row and the seventh time this summer time as houses and enterprise stored air conditioners cranked as much as escape a lingering warmth wave.
The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the grid for greater than 26 million prospects representing about 90% of the state’s energy load, stated it has sufficient sources obtainable to fulfill hovering demand.
Vitality analysts stated extra wind and solar energy have helped ERCOT meet document demand thus far this summer time whereas additionally sustaining reliability and holding costs comparatively low. Temperatures in Houston, Texas’ largest metropolis, hit as excessive as 100.4 F (38 levels Celsius) on Tuesday, based on AccuWeather.
Texas residents have nervous about excessive climate since a lethal storm in February 2021 left thousands and thousands with out energy, water and warmth for days as ERCOT struggled to forestall a grid collapse.
After setting 11 demand information final summer time, ERCOT stated utilization hit a preliminary 83,593 megawatts (MW) on Tuesday, which surpassed the all-time excessive of 83,047 MW on Monday.
On the peak hour on Monday, the grid bought about 57% of its energy provide from pure gasoline, 14% from photo voltaic, 14% from coal, 9% from wind and 6% from nuclear, based on federal vitality knowledge.
That compares with the height hour throughout final 12 months’s document on July 20, 2022 when 59% of the grid’s energy got here from gasoline, 15% from coal, 10% from photo voltaic, 9% from wind and 6% from nuclear.
Subsequent-day or spot costs on the ERCOT North Hub, which incorporates Dallas, fell to $69 per megawatt hour (MWh) for Tuesday from a two-week excessive of $250 for Monday. That compares with a mean of $43 thus far this 12 months, $78 in 2022 and a five-year (2018-2022) common of $66.
Within the real-time market, nonetheless, costs held between $1,000-$3,000 per MWh for nearly two hours late on Monday, based on the ERCOT web site.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino and Ashitha Shivaprasad; Modifying by Leslie Adler, Grant McCool and David Gregorio)
