Latest News

Texas power need to strike record high for month of May next week

Power use in Texas will likely break records for the month of May next week as homes and organizations crank up their a/c unit to leave a spring heat wave, the state's electrical grid operator predicted on Friday.

That heat will follow severe storms that pounded the Houston location with hurricane-force winds on Thursday, killing at least 4 people, blowing windows out of skyscrapers and leaving some 800,000 homes and organizations without power as much of the city was plunged into darkness.

Severe weather in Texas is similar to the February freeze in 2021 that left millions without power, water and heat for days and resulted in over 200 deaths as the state's grid operator rushed to avoid the power system from collapsing.

That grid operator, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), forecast electric need would soar from 57,486 megawatts (MW) on Friday to 71,893 MW on May 20, 72,725 MW on May 21 and 74,346 MW on May 24.

Next week's peaks would top the current record for the month of May of 71,645 MW embeded in 2022, according to ERCOT. The grid's. all-time peak was 85,508 MW on Aug. 10, 2023.

Analysts expect ERCOT electrical use will break that all-time. peak this summertime with economic and population development in Texas. and need for power from data centers, artificial intelligence. ( AI) and cryptocurrency mining rising quick.

One megawatt can generally power about 800 homes on a typical. day but as little as 200 homes on a hot day in Texas.

Heats in Houston, the greatest city in Texas,. will jump from 82 degrees Fahrenheit (27.8 Celsius) on Friday to. the low to mid 90s F from May 18-29, according to meteorologists. at AccuWeather. The normal high in Houston at this time of year. is 86 F.

Earlier this week when the weather condition was forecast to be even. hotter over the weekend, ERCOT cautioned of a possible future. Emergency situation Condition of reserve capacity shortage on Friday. and Saturday.

With less heat now anticipated this weekend after the serious. storms that lowered power demand by knocking out service to. hundreds of countless homes and businesses, ERCOT said late. Thursday it no longer sees the need to seek additional capacity. on Friday and Saturday.

In the spot market, next-day power prices at the ERCOT North. Hub << EL-PK-ERTN-SNL >, which includes Dallas, soared to a. one-week high of$ 120 per megawatt hour( MWh )for Friday, up. from$ 40 for Thursday, according to prices information on the LSEG. terminal. That compares to an average of$ 30 per MWh

up until now this. year,$ 80 in 2023 and $66 over the prior five years( 2018-2022). Day-ahead costs on the ERCOT website, on the other hand, skyrocketed to.

$ 688 per MWh for one hour late on Friday.

(source: Reuters)