AUSTIN – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has canceled a request to increase operating reserves this winter as it expected to be prepared for extreme weather.
This comes after the council requested to increase operating reserves in October. ERCOT initially said there would be an additional 3,000 MW for the winter 2023-2024 peak load season.
Recommended Videos
“The request for additional capacity was an extra layer of precaution to mitigate higher risk during extreme weather this winter,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “ERCOT is not projecting emergency conditions this winter and expects to have adequate resources to meet demand.”
In a news release, ERCOT stated it has implemented many reforms and grid improvements since 2021, including weatherization inspections of electric generation units and transmission facilities, additional ancillary services, and firm fuel supply service.
Additionally, ERCOT firmly believes that there remains tremendous potential in expanding demand response capabilities throughout the industrial, commercial, and residential customer classes, and looks forward to working with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and stakeholders to explore what incentives and product designs may work better in the future. Reducing peak demand at critical times can be an effective tool in an overall portfolio of reliability solutions, ERCOT said.
ERCOT came under fire during the winter storm in 2021 after a statewide outage. In total, 246 people died as a result of the harsh conditions, which resulted in hypothermia, carbon monoxide poisoning, car accidents, and fires. The victims ranged in age from less than 1 year old to 102 years old.