We’ve all heard the saying: Everything’s bigger in Texas. And right now, that includes the temperature.
It’s no surprise that July is hot in the Lone Star State. It’s that way every summer. And it’s no surprise that temperatures are setting records in plenty of cities, with a peak of 113 degrees. That’s what happens when a heat wave arrives.
If there is a surprise in all this, it’s that Texas, which is the No. 1 energy-producer in America, has warned that the recent extreme heat is at risk of overworking the state’s electricity grid.
On Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) asked residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve energy usage between 2 and 8 p.m. that day. While it said no losses of power were anticipated, the agency was planning for a shortage of reserve energy during that six-hour period.
The Washington Post said ERCOT predicted its grid would be able to generate 80,168 megawatts of electricity between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Monday. But it expected usage during that same hour of 79,671 megawatts — a demand that is 99.4% of the grid’s capacity.
That is a very close shave, and if Texas came out of it with no nicks or cuts in the form of electricity shutdowns, there will be a lot of relieved managers of the state’s power system.
But the question is, how can an energy-happy state like Texas find itself at such risk? An even bigger question is how this could happen for the second time in 16 months: Recall the ice storm of 2021, when large markets in the state lost electricity after zero-degree weather prevented power-generating plants from operating.
One reason Texas is in trouble this week is its big bet on wind energy, which provides up to 23% of the state’s electricity. The problem with a “heat dome,” which on Monday was parked over Texas, New Mexico and Colorado early this week, is that there’s less wind. In Texas, less wind means there’s less electricity when customers want to use more of it.
It is unfair to criticize the state for using alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Over time, these technologies will continue to improve, as will battery storage capabilities, so Texas is ahead of the curve.
But if the state made a mistake, it was the decision over the decades to build its own power grid without a backup plan for emergencies like this week’s. This is amplified by the state’s continued population growth, which shows no sign of slowing and which also implies that demand for electricity will continue to rise.
Texas utilities, unlike those in many other states, do not share electricity across state lines. That’s fine when you have enough juice; but when you run low, like the state did this week, and you can’t borrow from someone else, there’s the potential for a real problem.
Maxar, a weather consulting firm, said last Sunday was the second-hottest day in Texas since 1950, and most of the state had high temperatures above 100 degrees on Monday. Last year the Fox Business website cited a Texas A&M report that the number of 100-degree days in the state will double by 2036.
It looks like Texas’ 100-degree temperatures will continue for most or all of this week. It’s no stretch to envision parts of other Southern states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, dealing with a similar trend in July and August of this year — or future years.
To compare the Texas temperatures with Mississippi’s in the last few weeks, our state generally has had highs in the low 90s to about 95. Texas is about 10 degrees hotter.
Utilities in other states have said they’re worried about electricity grid crashes this summer. It may happen, but at least many utilities, including Entergy, share power across state lines. Hopefully that will keep the air conditioning on.
— Jack Ryan, McComb Enterprise-Journal
