Power lines are seen during a heat wave with expected temperatures of 102 F (39 C) in Dallas, Texas, USA, on June 12, 2022. REUTERS / Shelby Tauber / File Photo
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HOUSTON, July 10 (Reuters) – Texas power grid operator on Sunday asked residents of the state for the second time this year to save energy, warning of possible blackouts amid record temperature forecasts for Monday.
The state is facing a “potential shortage of reserve capacity with no market solutions available,” the Texas Reliability Council (ERCOT) said on its website, adding an energy emergency alert reporting the shutdown potential.
ERCOT, which oversees more than 26 million customers of electricity, had assured residents earlier this year that it had enough reserves to meet demand after millions of people suffered without electricity due to a freeze in early 2021 for several days.
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Statewide temperatures hit records on Sunday, with 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.6 degrees Celsius) recorded at Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport, surpassing the 101 F record set in 1909, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). ) from the US.
High or dangerous heat levels are forecast for much of the state on Monday, with temperatures exceeding 100 F.
ERCOT asked residents to save electricity between 2pm and 8pm, saying demand could reach 79,934 megawatts (MW) on Monday and 80,104 MW on Tuesday, not far from the 80,200 MW of available reserves scheduled for Monday.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner advised police chiefs and firefighters in the country’s fourth-most populous city “to prepare in the event the state’s power grid fails during extreme heat.”
The state network operator has called for more energy from suppliers and has asked large industrial consumers to reduce their energy consumption.
This energy use would exceed the current preliminary all-time high of 78,204 MW on July 8th. read more
One megawatt can power about 1,000 U.S. homes on a normal day, but only about 200 homes on a hot summer day in Texas.
Texas last called for energy conservation in May, during a previous heatwave that pushed prices to more than $ 4,000 per megawatt hour after six generators went offline. Read more
The state’s daily market has several hours on Monday afternoons at more than $ 1,000 per megawatt hour (MWh) and one at more than $ 2,000, which is more than double the maximum price on Sunday.
Despite high prices the day before over the weekend, electricity the next day at ERCOT’s north center dropped to $ 157 per MWh on Monday from a two-week high of $ 193 on Friday. The ERCOT North Hub includes Dallas.
That compares to an average of $ 69 so far this year.
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Report by Eileen Soreng in Bangalore, Gary McWilliams in Houston and Scott DiSavino in New York; Edited by Susan Fenton and Bernadette Baum
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