Tuesday | June 20, 2023
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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use, if safe to do so, due to extreme temperatures and forecasted record demand. This Voluntary Conservation Notice is in effect Tuesday, June 20 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CT.

The Voluntary Conservation Notice is part of ERCOT’s Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS), alerting the public of grid conditions. Last week, ERCOT issued a Weather Watch from June 15 – June 21 due to increased temperature and high demand.

ERCOT is requesting all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities.

ERCOT is not experiencing emergency conditions. Voluntary conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand for a specific period of peak demand time, which is typically late afternoon into the evening hours.

Yesterday, ERCOT broke the June peak demand record, unofficially, with 79,304 MW, passing last June’s record of 76,718 MW. Last summer, ERCOT set 11 new peak demand records. The current all-time record of 80,148 MW was set on July 20, 2022.

ERCOT is using additional tools to manage the grid reliably, including using reserve power, calling upon reductions by large electric customers that have volunteered to lower their energy use, and bringing more generation online sooner.

If you are experiencing an outage, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability. Please check with your local electric provider for more information.

Energy-saving tips can be found at ercot.com/txans.

Why the Need to Reduce Usage?

  • Extreme Heat. Much of Texas is seeing very high temperatures for an extended period.
  • Record Demand. Texas is seeing record demand due to the heat.
  • Thermal Outages. Forced thermal generation power plant outages are higher than normal.
  • Solar. Solar generation declines into the evening hours, before completely going offline at sunset.
  • Wind. Low wind generation compared to historic performance during summer peak.

Consumer Assistance

  • Public Utility Commission of Texas Hotline: 1-888-782-8477

Stay Updated

  • Sign up for TXANS notifications on the  ERCOT mailing list.
  • Download the ERCOT app (available through the Apple Store or Google Play)
  • Monitor current and extended conditions at ERCOT.com
  • Follow ERCOT on Twitter (@ERCOT_ISO) and Facebook (Electric Reliability Council of Texas).
  • Subscribe to ERCOT EmergencyAlerts, which are not sent through TXANS, and are only sent under emergency conditions.

 

 

Medina Electric Cooperative Notifications:

As always, Medina EC will monitor ERCOT grid conditions, conservation requests and energy emergencies. If emergency requests that involve forced outages for consumers are made by ERCOT, Medina EC will comply with those as required and will send notifications as quickly as humanly possible*. Please ensure the contact information on your account are correct. You can do that through SmartHub or by calling us at 1-866-632-3532.

Notifications include:

  • Email to accounts with email addresses on file.
  • Social media posts.
  • News item to our website.
  • Text messages to consumers signed up for MEC ERCOT text notifications. Sign up by texting ERCOT to 1-855-429-1119.
  • You are also encouraged to sign up for ERCOT's Emergency Alerts. 

*Please note: Notices are sent out as quickly as humanly possible, but the situation on the grid can change very quickly. If ERCOT's reserve margins reach critical condition and ERCOT calls for load shed, the outages may begin before all notifications are able to be sent out. Phone lines are likely to be overwhelmed.