A. Lee Graham
Reporter
As Texas electric consumers awaken to frigid conditions Monday morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas asks them to limit electric use as much as possible.
“The cold weather and accompanying wind that has spread across the region today is expected to result in high electric demand for tomorrow’s peak,” said Dan Woodfin, ERCOT director of system operations in a news release.
“Based on the level of generation supplies that we expect to be available, we are asking consumers throughout the ERCOT region to reduce their electricity use as much as possible Monday morning,” Woodfin said.
Consumers can help ensure the system is able to continue serving current power needs by following a few steps. Those include keeping thermostats as low as is comfortable, preferably no higher than 68 degrees; turning off and unplugging non-essential lights and appliances; and avoiding running large appliances, such as washers, dryers and electric ovens.
“We have asked all available generation units to be prepared for tomorrow morning’s demand, but we believe conservation by consumers also will be necessary to help maintain overall reliability during this extreme winter weather,” said Woodfin.