ERCOT, Oncor & you: Part 1Raise your hand if you’re growing weary of the calls to conserve energy. 
- Sunday marked the 4th day in a row ERCOT issued a conservation warning.
The big picture: This week I’m 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.
How it works: Today, let’s look at the role of ERCOT.
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.
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 —> 26 million customers.
- ERCOT’s most critical job is ensuring the stability of the grid.
Reality check: Despite a lot of criticism, ERCOT’s recent strategies have helped avoid emergency operations this summer.
- Even though this summer we’ve seen 10 new all-time peak demand records.
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 “black start” to the grid, which would have kept many people without power for weeks — possibly months!
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.
Best,
Travis