TYLER, Texas — On Tuesday, May 17th Ercot held a press conference to discuss the Texas power grid's sustainability to meet power demand this summer.
Last weekend, six generational power facilities went offline within just a few hours, resulting in approximately 2,900 MW of electricity lost according to their news release.
The Texas chairman of Public Utilities Commission, Peter Lake, says he's confident in the grid's ability to hold up despite the challenge.
"I know the lights are gonna stay on, because of all the reforms we've put in place," Lake said. "We do encounter challenges, like we saw last weekend, the multiple reforms are complementary and build off of each other to create even greater reliability."
Ercot is encouraging Texans to practice conservation early this year to help keep the power grid sustainable and more cost-efficient.
"I hope that each of you will turn to conservation as a way to both lower your bill as well as to help all of us in the market." said Brad Jones, Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO. "We know that all Texans can help each other and help the grid to be even stronger. So we're doing that in advance of these situations."
With more solar wind and solar power being added throughout the state, more reserve power is also being implemented to keep the power grid going for years to come.
"We are moving forward with phase two of implementing those reforms, which will prioritize long-term reliability and transition the economics of the ERCOT market to on-demand power sources," Lake said.