With the days getting hotter and tropical activity picking up in the Gulf of Mexico, concerns are mounting about the reliability of the Texas power supply after the state’s main grid operator asked residents to go on a five-day energy conservation diet.
On June 14, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the organization that operates much of the state’s power grid, issued an alert urging Texans to conserve power as much as possible through June 18, citing “tight grid conditions” caused by a combination of unexpected power plant outages and the potential for record energy use in June.