ERCOT's Vegas: 'We are forecasting increased demand due to the higher temperatures expected this week and into next week'

Forecasts of triple-digit heat for much of the second full week of June prompted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to implement a weather watch on Tuesday to go into effect on Thursday. 

The operator of Texas’ energy grid also cited the likelihood of increased demand for issuing the watch.

“ERCOT has issued its first weather watch to let Texans know that we are forecasting increased demand due to the higher temperatures expected this week and into next week,” Pablo Vegas, the operator’s president and chief executive officer (CEO), said, according to a report from Austin NBC affiliate KXAN. “Grid conditions are normal when we issue a weather watch. 

“ERCOT continues to monitor conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid and will continue our reliability-first approach to operations, always prioritizing grid reliability,” Vegas added. 

Per ERCOT, the weather watch will be in place through June 21.

According to a report from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) CBS affiliate KTVT, the watch doesn’t necessarily mean blackouts and brownouts are likely, but that ERCOT is doing what it can to make sure Texans have their power consistently on.

It’s the second step of ERCOT’s new plan to be more transparent in extreme weather conditions that potentially pose trouble to the grid, KTVT reported.

The station reported that ERCOT could request people to lower their usage with a conservation notice, while an energy emergency alert is merely a last resort.

KXAN reported that ERCOT saw 11 new peak demand records set in 2022, to which the agency said was the first time 80 gigawatts (GW) were exceeded.

ERCOT said the mark set on July 20, 2022, of 80,148 megawatts (MW) is the present record, the station reported.

Last December was the most recent time ERCOT warned of a very high peak load when an arctic front that would send temperatures plummeting toward the teens days before Christmas was forecasted to move through the Lone Star State, Houston Daily reported.