Raise your hand if youβre growing weary of the calls to conserve energy. πββοΈ
- Sunday marked the 4th day in a row ERCOT issued a conservation warning.
πΌοΈΒ The big picture: This week Iβm going to dive in on this topic to give you a clearer understanding of our energy grid.
- As smart homeowners we can benefit from a basic understanding of the grid.
βοΈΒ How it works: Today, letβs look at the role of ERCOT.
πΒ The United States is made up of three electric grids.
- The Western Interconnection, the Eastern Interconnection and the Texas Interconnection.
- States that are interconnected can share electricity in times of need.
- Texas is basically an island.
πΒ ERCOT is a non-profit corporation overseen by the Texas Public Utility Commission and Texas Legislature.
- ERCOT is tasked with managing the flow of electric power to 90% of Texas β> 26 million customers.
- ERCOTβs most critical job is ensuring the stability of the grid.
π₯ Reality check: Despite a lot of criticism, ERCOTβs recent strategies have helped avoid emergency operations this summer.
- Even though this summer weβve seen 10 new all-time peak demand records.
π§Β However, during the freeze of February 2021, we narrowly escaped disaster.
- On February 15, the grid reached an unstable frequency for four minutes and 23 seconds.
- 9 minutes at that frequency would have led to a grid collapse.
- That would have required a βblack startβ to the grid, which would have kept many people without power for weeks β possibly months!
β Β For your Smart Homeowner list
- If you want to stay informed, search ERCOT in your app store and download their app.
- Tune in the rest of the week to learn more. π
Best,
Travis