Record Breaking Electric Demand Expected Thursday & Friday, ERCOT Requests Conservation

AUSTIN, TX, Sept. 4, 2019 – Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use on Thursday, Sept. 5 and Friday, Sept. 6, especially during the hours of 2 to 7 p.m.

“ERCOT’s job is to ensure power is available all over Texas,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness. “When electricity demand and heat reach levels like we expect on Thursday and Friday, we ask Texans to consider taking a few steps to help keep power flowing for all of us.”

Some areas of Texas are expected to see the highest temperatures experienced so far this summer. Temperatures are expected to exceed 100 degrees in all major Texas metropolitan areas through Sept. 7.

ERCOT set a new September peak demand record on Tuesday, Sept. 3 when demand reached 68,546 MW between 4 and 5 p.m. This is more than 1,500 MW higher than the previous September record set in 2016.

Steps to help reduce electricity use:

• Turn thermostat up 2 to 3 degrees during the peak hours of 2 to 7 p.m.
• Set programmable thermostats to higher temperatures when no one is home.
• Use fans to feel 4 to 6 degrees cooler.
• Limit use of large appliances (i.e., dishwasher, washer, dryer, etc.) to morning or after 7 p.m.
• If you cook indoors from 2 to 7 p.m., use a microwave or slow cooker.
• Close blinds and drapes during late afternoon. 
• Schedule pool pumps to run in the early morning or overnight hours; shut off between 2 and 7 p.m.
  

More conservation tips are available at www.ercot.com/about/conservation and http://powertosavetexas.org/.

How to track electricity demand

• View daily peak demand forecast, current load and available generation at http://www.ercot.com.
• Follow ERCOT on Twitter (@ERCOT_ISO) and Facebook (Electric Reliability Council of Texas).
• Sign up for the ERCOT mobile app (available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play).
• Subscribe to the EmergencyAlerts list on http://lists.ercot.com.

Consumer assistance

For the Public Utility Commission of Texas Hotline 1-888-782-8477.

What is ERCOT?

The ERCOT region includes the urban load centers of Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and Austin, as well as most of West Texas, portions of the Panhandle and the Rio Grande Valley. It excludes the El Paso area, Northeast Texas (Longview, Marshall and Texarkana) and Southeast Texas (Beaumont, Port Arthur and The Woodlands). An ERCOT region map is available at: http://www.ercot.com/news/mediakit/maps/index.html.

ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, manages the flow of electric power to more than 25 million Texas customers, representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load. As the Independent System Operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 650+ generation units.

ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for more than 8 million premises in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.