A recent report in Forbes says America’s power grids are incapable of handling the heatwaves that are hammering the country.
Of course, peak demand in Texas occurs during the summer months and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, also known as ERCOT, expects demand in August 1028 will exceed the record levels of 71,000 megawatts already surpassed in July.
In order to meet consumer demand, energy providers are often forced to reactivate aging, inefficient coal and nuclear power plants. In many areas, this causes electricity prices to surge and high demand can even lead to blackouts such as those that have cropped up on the West Coast.
Still, despite the push for renewable solutions, generation capacity cannot fully meet the demand.
Today, the continued closure of legacy coal and nuclear generators, along with the lack of incentives for building new baseload generators, have pushed systems in the U.S. to the breaking point. Los Angeles has learned it. Other markets may well face it before the summer is over.
So, what does this mean for Texas? Typically, consumers in the Lone Star state are not subject to the same types of energy challenges facing the rest of the country because ERCOT has done a good job maintaining, forecasting, and improving the power grid infrastructure. Still, consumers are encouraged to save energy when they can because it not only lowers stress on the power grid, it can also result in lower electricity prices.
If you are looking for electricity rates in Dallas or Houston or anywhere in between, be sure to check out the competitive offers from the various Retail Electricity Providers available at FirewheelPower.com.