ERCOT is again calling for Texans to conserve energy Wednesday afternoon because of an ongoing heatwave.
Residents are urged to curb electricity usage from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday. Currently, no system-wide outages are expected, Electric Reliability Council of Texas officials said in a statement.
At noontime, Brownsville’s “feels like” temperature was 106 degrees, Harlingen’s was 105 degrees and McAllen’s was 106 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Brownsville.
Conservation is a strategy ERCOT has deployed more than four dozen times since 2008 to manage grid operations. This notification is issued when projected reserves may fall below 2300 MW for 30 minutes or more.
Wednesday’s conditions were expected to be similar to those experienced Monday.
ERCOT encouraged electric customers to visit the Public Utility Commission’s Power to Save or their electric provider’s websites to get important conservation tips. According to the PUC, ways to reduce electricity use during peak times include turning up your thermostat a degree or two, if comfortable, and postponing running major appliances or pool pumps during the requested time frame.
