Power Grid Operator Asks Customers to Reduce Use This Afternoon

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking consumers to reduce energy use from 3:00-7:00 pm today.

Unexpected power generating unit outages and high temperatures will lead to a shortage of power supply, ERCOT officials said in a news release this morning.

 “If a high electricity demand or loss of additional large generation units causes our reserve power to be below the target threshold, the operators will begin emergency procedures to maintain system reliability,” said Kent Saathoff, the  vice president of grid operations and system planning.

Those procedure could include seeking power from other grids, dropping industrial load resources with certain contracts, and executing controlled, rotating outages.