ERCOT

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has canceled a request to increase operating reserves this winter as it expected to be prepared for extreme weather.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas announced Tuesday an update to the emergency operations reserve levels ahead of the winter months.

As part of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ approach to grid operations, a request was issued to stakeholders Monday to increase operating reserves, a news release said.

ERCOT announced a new web page which will provide Texans with a view of current and yearly demand records.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) instituted an Energy Emergency Alert on Wednesday but avoided calling for controlled outages to keep the grid in balance.

Riot Platforms is losing so much money that it’s counting on energy credits from selling power back to the Texas grid to keep its costs under control, reports said.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking Texans to conserve electricity use, if safe to do so, Thursday from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has asked Houston residents and businesses to conserve electricity due to continued high temperatures, high demand, low wind and declining solar power generation Wednesday evening.

Record-high power demand and faltering electricity sources have tested the grid in the past month, forcing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to dig deep into its toolbox to keep power flowing.

Due to a high level of unexpected electricity outages and forecasted low wind generation, operating reserves for ERCOT are expected to be low in the afternoon and evening, a news release said.

The agency said the call is due to low wind and potential low solar generation and high demand. They said operating reserves for ERCOT are expected to be low in the afternoon and evening.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued a Voluntary Conservation Notice to customers.

The grid operator asked Texans to reduce power use from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid a power-supply emergency.

The latest conservation request from ERCOT — the third in the past week — sought to reduce power demand from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday.

Officials from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) have issued a Weather Watch for the next few days as hot weather is expected to continue impacting our area.

ERCOT is calling on Texans to voluntarily conserve electricity usage due to extreme temperatures, continued high demand, and unexpected loss of thermal generation.

Most of Texas relies on the ERCOT grid but a small portion of Texas is on a different system. How are those grids handling the heat?

ERCOT’s weather watch does not indicate the state will see widespread outages or that ERCOT will call for energy conservation.

ERCOT’s weather watch does not indicate the state will see widespread outages or that ERCOT will call for energy conservation.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued a weather watch due to extreme temperatures Friday and forecasted record demand.

The all-Republican court narrowly found that the nonprofit corporation operating the state’s electrical grid qualifies for sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from lawsuits.

Texans were asked to conserve energy from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday as temperatures climb over 100 degrees for much of the state.

ERCOT has issued a Weather Watch from June 15 – June 21 due to forecasted higher temperatures and higher electrical demand.So far, grid conditions appeared normal during this Weather Watch.

Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is holding a news conference on Wednesday to announce its new campaign to provide reliable information to Texans about the power grid.

On Wednesday, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, shared a seasonal assessment that shows extreme temperatures over the summer may put the state in an energy crunch. These worries stem from what officials with the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and ERCOT said is Texas’ failure to keep up with population growth in terms of the grid.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission of Texas are holding a press conference on Wednesday in Austin to update Texans on the status of the grid ahead of the upcoming summer.

Tens of thousands of Austin households and businesses went days without electricity after a winter storm wreaked havoc across Texas.

Friends in North Austin removed downed trees from neighbors’ roofs, while closer to the city core, volunteers rushed to meet the immediate needs of people without homes — those most severely impacted by the freezing temperatures.

The Electric Reliability Council of of Texas (ERCOT) requested an emergency order from the U.S. Department of Energy on Friday to bypass certain emission standards for power plants due to the impact of extreme cold weather in Texas.

At least one person died in the freezing weather. High demand for electricity is forecast to continue into Saturday.

Every year dozens of people die from carbon monoxide poisoning in the aftermath of storms.

Bright and early Tuesday morning, the Public Utility Commission of Texas delivered a measure of good news concerning the Texas Power Grid.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s main power grid, has a dashboard that allows residents to track current conditions and usage. The timestamp of each dashboard indicates when the information was last updated, according to ERCOT’s website.

How prepared is the state’s power grid to handle extreme weather?

ERCOT announced Thursday that as part of its ongoing commitment to communicating reliable information on grid conditions for Texans, the new Fuel Mix dashboard will provide a real-time view of its energy generation by resource type.

Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Peter Lake and ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas held a press conference Tuesday to update Texans on grid reliability and readiness for winter 2022-2023.

The proposal is aimed at making sure power providers and electricity generators have enough power on hand in case of increased demand. But it’s not clear how it would hold up in unexpected weather, an expert said.

The governor shared the favorable forecast — which is normal for the fall months — ahead of a competitive race in which the grid’s performance during last year’s fatal winter storm may factor into Texans’ decisions at the polls.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Board of Directors announced Tuesday the selection of Pablo Vegas to serve as the President and CEO for the Texas grid operator. Vegas will join ERCOT on October 1.

Power outages are a possibility during any severe weather event. But a local power outage is different from a larger power grid problem.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and Patrick about the power grid, the race for governor and the extra money the Texas Legislature will have on hand to spend next year.

ERCOT is once again asking Texans to conserve electricity this week as hot weather continues driving record power demands across the state.

Fort Bend County Judge KP George, along with Fort Bend County officials, held a news conference Monday to address Fort Bend County residents on the Electric Reliability Council Of Texas’ request for consumers to conserve energy.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s main power grid, has a dashboard that allows residents to track current conditions and usage.

A new unofficial all-time peak demand record for the Texas power grid was hit Monday after officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued a Conservation Appeal.

Can the state's electricity grid handle all of the electricity usage during these hot summer months? Find out the scenarios that could bring rolling blackouts to your neighborhood - Plus, the role solar energy plays in all of this.

EROCT said the power demand surpassed 74. 9 GW on Sunday, breaking the previous record of 74. 8 GW in August 2019.

The state’s grid operater was able to maintain supply without needing to call for any conservation.

Officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission will hold a press conference to discuss the readiness of the Texas power grid for the 2022 summer season, according to a release.

On Friday afternoon, ERCOT asked Texans to conserve power by setting their thermostats at 78-degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances during peak hours this weekend.

Nearly 100 firefighters from 0ver 20 different fire departments were working to put out a fire at a power plant that started in Fort Bend County Monday, officials said.

ERCOT has issued an Advanced Action Notice Tuesday for Texas power plants to prepare for higher than usual customer demand due to the high temperatures forecasted for Mother’s Day weekend.

After 2021’s winter storm electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers worked to shore up the state’s electric grid. But they’re not finished, despite what you might hear from campaigning politicians.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and James about how Texas held up during the wintry weather, plus the struggles of the National Guard during their border deployment.

Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference Friday morning to give an update on the artic cold front that has impacted Texas.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s main power grid, has a dashboard which allows residents to track current conditions and usage.

As a strong artic cold front moves across Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference Thursday, providing an update on the severe winter weather.

Texas faces a new winter storm a year after a deadly freeze left millions without power. Here’s the latest.

A watch has been issued for the Texas area for an extreme cold weather event with possible icing conditions as an arctic cold front blasts through Wednesday night, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

Many Texans are concerned as officials are preparing for winter weather across much of the state this week.

Ten months ago, millions of homes and businesses were plunged into darkness and more than 100 Texans lost their lives when our power grid failed at the height of a historic winter storm.

Texans will not lose power if another winter storm strikes, like the one that crippled the state’s power grid last February, according to the chairman of Texas Public Utility Commission Peter Lake.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell, James and Karen about the status of the power grid and the pandemic heading into winter.

Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll.

After the winter storm emergency that killed more than 200 people in February, power companies are facing a December deadline to submit plans for this upcoming winter.

We want to hear from Texans about how this catastrophic event is still affecting their lives.

The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February.

At KPRC 2, we’re dedicated to keeping Houstonians informed. As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston.

I had a quick conversation with my neighbor yesterday about solar panels as he is considering installing some on his roof. This is a pretty typical discussion when we have these long stretches of blue sky, especially after last February’s ERCOT disaster. We don’t talk much about putting in a wind turbine, yet coincidentally Climate Central sent down a fascinating look at just how much power both the sun and the wind can generate. I have graphics! Given today’s sunshine and what we are expecting over the weekend, here is how much power the good ole sun would generate:

Texans, do you think this is a good idea? Apparently, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has filed a new subsidiary, called Tesla Energy Ventures, with the Public Utility Commission of Texas.

Gov. Greg Abbott appoints Arch “Beaver” Aplin, president and CEO of Buc-ee’s, to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas Board Selection Committee for a term.

ERCOT and PUC give updates on summer grid preparations

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, commonly known as ERCOT, released a statement Tuesday that it has come out with a plan to address operational improvements to the state’s power grid.

Gov. Greg Abbott sent a letter to members of the Public Utility Commission of Texas on Tuesday directing them to take immediate action to improve electric reliability across the state.

The Public Utility Commission said the state's main power grid operator will have three days — instead of 60 — to release some information about power plant outages. But that may not include why the electricity generators were offline.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ conservation alert urged Texans to conserve electricity this week and part of their recommendation was to raise the temperature on the thermostat.

Several Texas lawmakers were briefed Wednesday on the status of our state’s power grid. Gov. Greg Abbott also spoke about the recent calls for energy conservation after several power generators went offline for unexpected maintenance.

ERCOT admitted the majority of lost reserve electricity generation on Monday was due to unscheduled maintenance issues.

Harsh memories of losing power during the winter storm in February are still frozen into the minds of people at the adult assisted living facility, Noah’s House.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages more than 26 million Texas customers’ electric power, issued a conservation alert Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed sweeping legislation to prevent another weather disaster that crippled the state back in February.

The Texas Public Utility Commission is considering ending a ‘no disconnect’ order, possibly as soon as June 11.

KPRC 2 Investigates presents a “Power Struggle: The Texas Energy Crisis.”

ERCOT said Wednesday that it will test its automated emergency grid conditions communication system at 7 p.m.

The group that manages the grid that provides electric power to most of Texas assures that the grid will provide sufficient power to meet peak summer demand.

ERCOT seeks to calm concerns ahead of summer heat, peak power demands

Hours after canceling its emergency conservation notice issued Tuesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued another advisory warning of a potential shortage of reserve power Wednesday.

Almost two months after a winter storm crippled Texas, people are still struggling to repair their homes and some residents are still without water.

A preliminary report released Tuesday by the agency overseeing most of the Texas power grid blames weather for most of the outages that happened during February’s winter storm, but it fails to explain why plants across the state were unprepared for the historic cold.

WASHINGTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner went before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to testify as a witness for a hearing about the power grid failures that happened during last month’s winter storm. The hearing, called by U.S. Rep Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston), will take a look at the statewide failures during the storm. Yet politically powerful natural gas companies, along with their regulators, have largely escaped the wrath of Gov. At least 57 people died during the winter storm that plunged large swaths of Texas into subfreezing temperatures and overwhelmed the state’s electricity infrastructure, causing massive power outages. That’s because nearly half of the total power generation capacity for the main state electricity grid was offline as weather conditions caused failures in every type of power source: natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear.

As part of our Ask 2 series, the newsroom will answer your questions about all things Houston. Question: What is specifically meant by the “winterization” of our electric grid? Greg Abbott called for the winterization of the state’s power grid, he meant that infrastructure needs to be equipped to withstand extreme weather. According to the Texas Tribune, this specifically means upgrading or retrofitting natural gas, wind, coal or nuclear energy sources to be prepared for future events similar to Winter Storm Uri. Some ideas that experts suggest are prioritizing efforts to prevent frozen wellheads, retrofitting the blades of wind turbines with special coatings and heating elements and retrofitting existing natural gas wells.

The crush of proposed legislation follows what many consider to be the numerous failings of our state’s power grid uncovered by February’s winter storm. Ad“They failed us, miserably,” Bossette said of state lawmakers. 2011Ten years ago, lawmakers were lamenting how another winter storm knocked out power to millions of Texans. Just as they are now, ERCOT officials face withering criticism for not making sure our grid was better prepared. Even then, ERCOT officials said they have no authority to force power generators to follow through with these plans.

AUSTIN, Texas – The demands of lawmakers are growing louder when it comes to addressing what some call a multi-billion-dollar billing error. The dispute involves energy prices charged during the winter storm. He also said certain markets had settled, and retroactively changing energy prices could create ripple effects with dire financial consequences. He also balked at the assertion that energy providers would pass on their financial losses to customers in terms of rate hikes. He said Texas’ market is easy to enter and and there are plenty of providers willing to compete for business.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas today named Adrianne Brandt the agency’s new Director of ERCOT, Inc. AUSTIN, Texas – Weeks after the catastrophic winter storm in Texas, The Public Utility Commission of Texas named Adrianne Brandt, the new Director of ERCOT Inc. “Adrianne is the exact mixture of knowledge, experience and toughness this role requires,” said PUC Chairman Arthur D’Andrea. “Adrianne and Brad provide a powerful one-two punch of industry knowledge, regulatory experience and unassailable integrity,” said PUC Executive Director, Thomas Gleeson. “Not only will they guide a financial analysis of the grid event but will also ratchet up ERCOT’s accountability to the PUC and the people of Texas.”

AdThose 59 orders left millions of Houstonians without power for days. “I produce enough power to power my house and keep (it) going,” he said. His solar-and-battery home produced so much power, he was able to send it back to his power company’s grid and help power other homes. Ad“I was reaching out to all the people I know, and invited them over.”Boneno also said his solar panels also offer him a big savings on his power bill. Sunnova serves residential customers and has partners who make solar panels, batteries and other electronic pieces to control the power.

(AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has declared the correction of any billion-dollar errors related to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas as an emergency item for the 87th Legislative Session, according to a release. The emergency items include any inaccurate excessive charges or any issues regarding additional service prices after February’s deadly winter storm in Texas. In Texas, wholesale power prices are determined by supply and demand: When demand is high, ERCOT allows prices to go up. During the storm, PUC directed the grid operator to set wholesale power prices at $9,000 per megawatt-hour -- the maximum price.

HOUSTON – Galveston County Judge Mark Henry says he wants tough action. He’s blaming those deaths on power outages that lasted longer than expected during the winter storm. A criminal complaint filed Monday with the Galveston County District Attorney’s office could lead to an investigation and charges filed at the DA’s discretion. It wasn’t hard to find people who agree with Judge Henry’s decision to call for a criminal investigation. “Why were residents cut off and left off, while office building s downtown remained powered on the entire time,” Judge Henry said.

HOUSTON – Frustration is still boiling over the deadly freeze that ravaged Texas last month. A freeze, that according to ERCOT’s records, show’s a large number of facilities in the state going down. Some of them are the same ones that went down during a paralyzing North Texas freeze in 2011. Ten years ago, as a state senator, Hager authored legislation requiring the winterization of generators to avoid future failures. Ad“It’s the same lessons learned,” said deputy director of the Energy Institute at the University of Texas, Michael Webber.

FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2020, file photo, the company logo appears on an unsold 2020 Model X at a Tesla dealership in Littleton, Colo. The U.S. governments auto safety agency has rejected a request to investigate unintended acceleration in Tesla electric vehicles, saying the acceleration was caused by drivers pushing the wrong pedal. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)Tesla is installing a gigantic battery that is said to help bring more power to Texas’ electrical grid, according to a report. The construction was kept undercover, but Brazoria County public documents confirmed the company’s role in the installation, according to Bloomberg. A subsidiary was registered as Gambit Energy, LLC and is said to bring more than 100 megawatts of energy in Angelton, which is measured to power at least 20,000 homes during the summer months.