ERCOT Rolling Out First Step of Emergency Procedures

[sonias]

Texas Tribune 8/2/11
ERCOT Rolling Out First Step of Emergency Procedures

As scorching temperatures continued and Texas electricity use reached another all-time high, the state grid operator initiated the first step of emergency procedures today, seeking power from other grids, including Mexico.

About 20 power generation units, accounting for around 3,000 megawatts of capacity, were unavailable today during unplanned outages, adding to the strain on the grid. Today's temperatures soared well past 100 degrees, and it's not likely that the situation will get better Wednesday or Thursday unless some thunderstorms pass over a major metropolitan area, like Houston or Dallas, to lessen demand.

At a 4 p.m. press call, Kent Saathoff, the vice president of system operations for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state grid operator, said that if the grid lost another 300 megawatts of power, then ERCOT would call for step two of emergency procedures: cutting the power to industrial customers that, under contract, agreed to be dropped in dire times. That would provide 1,000 megawatts to the system, which was facing demands of nearly 68,000 megawatts — well past yesterday's record-setting high of 66,867 megawatts — this afternoon.

How's that deregulated electric market working for you Texas? "20 power generation units, accounting for around 3,000 megawatts of capacity, were unavailable" It's obvious that the utility companies are playing some kind of game or they are totally incompetent at their jobs. This is going to be as bad as the cold snap in January. Expect rolling blackouts to come our way. Oh and you just wait for it - the whole blame will be put on the EPA and the new environmental regulations. I just bet ya. :grr:

[plumbob]

1. Yep, get everybody panicked and excited and in the dark and heat for part of the day,

then announce it can all be fixed for say, 40% higher rates.

Anybody want to bet against it? I can use the money - school starts soon.

[TxVietVet]

2. Just about any competent electric company can keep the lights on, but

it takes some really greedy bastards to cut it off during a crisis in order to maximize profits. Can you say, "ENRON". They learned from the oil companies, who had an excuse for raising gasoline prices during late spring, early summer. They usually said that the season had caused to to retool equipment later or early, depending on how much profit they wanted. The seasons come around each and every year. Working in refineries for years, you know they pre-plan outages months and months in advance, knowing the wear and tear on the units can allow so much usage. So, they do shutdowns at peak demand to create a limited supply to maximize profits. Free market bu$hit.

Where is the outrage?

Americans are either more gullable or more stupid as time goes on.

[sonias]

3. I'm outraged right along with you

Unfortunately most of Texas consumers may watch Faux News and believe everything they here about how regulation and environmentalist are the problem with why we have blackouts. :mad:

[sonias]

4. Grid operator warns that brownouts may be in Texans' futures

AAS 8/4/11
Grid operator warns that brownouts may be in Texans' futures

An exceptional heat wave on Wednesday continued testing the limits of the state's primary electricity grid, breaking records for peak usage and raising the specter of rotating outages if the upward trend isn't broken soon.

An official with the grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, on Wednesday declined to give odds on whether rotating outages, also known as brownouts, might become necessary.

"This is a very exceptional heat wave and very exceptional (electricity) loads," Kent Saathoff, ERCOT's vice president of system planning and operations, said during a conference call with reporters. "But if we get some relief, even a degree or two, that helps."

As if to underscore the uncertainty of predicting weather and consumer habits, Saathoff began the 4 p.m. conference call by saying that ERCOT was expecting to ask large industrial customers — mostly Gulf Coast plants — to interrupt their electricity service at any moment.

:kick:

[sonias]

5. Texas Power Grid Still Struggling to Keep Up With Demand

Audio story:

Texas Tribine 8/4/11
Texas Power Grid Still Struggling to Keep Up With Demand

Texas set another all-time record for electricity use on Wednesday, forcing the state's grid operator to declare a power emergency. Matt Largey of KUT News reports on the state power grid's struggle to keep up with the heat.

:kick: