Millions Of Texans Could Lose Power In Rolling Blackouts Amid Record Heat

Topline

Texas’ power grid operator is asking Texans to conserve power Monday amid a record-breaking heat wave that has led to unprecedented amounts of energy demand, warning that rolling blackouts are possible as much of the state is projected to reach temperatures 100 degrees and higher this week.

Key Facts

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas asked residents and businesses to voluntarily turn up the thermostat and conserve energy from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday to help preserve the power grid.

ERCOT said no system-wide outages are expected, but did warn of potential rolling blackouts for its more than 26 million customers.

Texas’ forecasted power demand is expected to surpass 79 gigawatts on Monday, according to ERCOT, which would break the record peak demand of 77 megawatts that was just set on Wednesday (one megawatt can power 1,000 U.S, homes in a single day, but only about 200 households on a summer day in Texas, according to Reuters).

The state is facing record electric demand across the state as residents use more air conditioning to cope with the 100+ degree temperatures outside, ERCOT said, which could be compounded by low winds on Monday, with projections showing wind power generation at less than 10% of capacity.

Cities across the state recorded record-breaking temperatures over the weekend, including Houston, where Bush Intercontinental Airport reached 105 degrees Sunday (the previous record for the location, 101 degrees, was set more than a century ago in 1909, according to the U.S. National Weather Service).

Tangent

Climate change has meant hotter temperatures for Texas. The state’s average daily minimum and maximum temperatures have both jumped by 2.2 degrees over the past 125 years, according to the Texas Tribune, and last year Texas recorded its hottest December since 1889.

Contra

ERCOT’s call to conserve has drawn backlash in Texas. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to improve the state grid after rolling blackouts left millions without power and heat amid a record-breaking freeze in 2021. “The governor of the 9th largest economy on earth — the energy capital of the world — can’t guarantee the power will stay on tomorrow. We need change.” said Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat running against Abbott in the upcoming gubernatorial race.

Key Background

Swathes of the central and southern U.S. have been under a heatwave moving west, and over the weekend cities in Arkansas, Colorado and Oklahoma also recorded record-breaking high temperatures. About 50 million people across the country are under heat warnings or advisories, meteorologist Frank Pereira told the New York Times Saturday. The high temperatures have been exacerbated by a heat dome, when high pressure traps heat over a specific area.

What To Watch For

The heat dome is projected to continue shifting westward early this week, and Accuweather projects temperatures to rise in Nevada, Arizona and Utah in the coming days.

Further Reading

Yes, Another Heat Wave: Almost 50 Million Under Heat Alerts Across U.S. (Forbes)