AUSTIN (WBAP/KLIF) The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use, if safe to do so, due to extreme temperatures, continued high demand, and unexpected loss of thermal generation. The Voluntary Conservation Notice is in effect Sunday, August 20, from 7 p.m. – 10 p.m. CT.

The Voluntary Conservation Notice is part of ERCOT’s Texas Advisory and Notification System, alerting the public of grid conditions.

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 at this time,” the council said in a statement. “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.”

ERCOT said it 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.

ERCOT set a new, all-time, unofficial peak demand record of 85,435 MW on August 10. On Saturday, ERCOT set a new all-time weekend peak demand record of 84,805 MW.

In 2022, the August peak demand was 78,465 MW.

This summer, ERCOT has set 10 new all-time peak demand records. 

Last summer, ERCOT set 11 new peak demand records with a high of 80,148 MW on July 20.

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