TEXAS, USA — Consistent searing temps mean a lot of pressure on our energy grids which is why ERCOT asked Texans to conserve their energy this week.
Don Whaley, OhmConnect's Texas region president, said preserving the power grid takes a team effort.
“The notion when people say, ‘well, what's cutting back in my little house gonna do?’ We always go ‘it's kind of us against the world, so me doing something different isn't really gonna make a difference,'" he said, "But the fact of the matter is, small things in large numbers add up to significant change.”
It makes for a stable energy grid and no rolling blackouts in the blistering heat.
Electricity Plans reports that the average Texas household uses 39.2 kilowatts of power per day. Multiply that by the 10 million homes in Texas and you’re looking at 392 million kilowatts of power.
If every home turned up their thermostat by just one degree for one day, we’d save the power grid more than 31 million kilowatts. Turning it up any more than that equals even more savings but be cautious, ERCOT stresses that they want you to adjust, but not beyond your level of comfort or safety.
Whaley also says to get strategic because conserving energy isn’t all about cutting down- it's also about spreading out your use.
He said, "What ERCOT is asking is not use less electricity all day, they're saying use less electricity particularly during these times of extreme demand.”
He said peak hours tend to fall between 1-6PM, so aim to do your laundry or use your dishwasher outside of those hours. For those with pools, opt to run your pool pump at night rather than during peak demand in the day. All of these small actions add up to saving some major power and not to mention, money.
ERCOT wants Texans to continue reducing their energy use through Friday.