NORTH TEXAS (WBAP/KLIF News) – As temperatures hover below freezing tonight, Texas is on track to set another record for energy use.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ Leslie Sopko said while they’re expecting demand to increase dramatically overnight, resident shouldn’t worry about the possibility of a blackout.
“At this time, we do have sufficient generation of resources to keep up with demand but we do realize that this is a fluid situation and things can change,” she said.
Forecasters predict that the temperatures will dip into the teens tonight, which would naturally lead to most North Texas households cranking up the heat.
“Based on the forecast that we’re seeing for today and tomorrow, it is very possible that we set a another new Winter peak demand record,” she said.
Sopko said cities like Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio use the most energy due to population size.
She said blackouts in those areas aren’t likely as the state has already hit a energy use record earlier this month.
“On January 3rd, between 7 and 8 in the morning and that was when load peaked at 62,885 megawatts. Just to give you an idea, we are currently looking at a possible peak load this evening 65,000 megawatts. If that does occur then we would sent another new Winter peak demand record,” said Sopko.
The council will monitor grid conditions closely and is not asking residents to conserve energy Tuesday night.
To stay updated on the state’s energy situation, ERCOT advises residents to download its App on their phones to get real time updates on energy grid conditions.
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