ERCOT, the agency that manages the state’s power grid, is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use “if safe to do so” from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. today (Sunday, Aug. 20) as extreme temperatures continue to increase demand for electricity.
The voluntary conservation notice is part of ERCOT’s Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS), 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 (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) said it is not experiencing emergency conditions at this time and that voluntary conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand for a specific period of peak demand time – typically late afternoon into the evening hours.
The agency is using additional tools to manage the grid reliably, the release said, including using reserve power, implementing reductions by large electric customers that have volunteered to lower their energy use, and bringing more generation online.
If anyone is experiencing an outage, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability, ERCOT said.
