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Texas power need to break May record in heat wave on Friday

Power use in Texas was on track to break the record for the month of May for a second time this week on Friday and might top that once again over the Memorial Day weekend as homes and services crank up their air conditioning unit to escape a heat wave.

Extreme weather condition in Texas is a tip of 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 prevent the power system from collapsing.

The Electric Dependability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the majority of the state's power grid for 27 million customers, stated the system was currently running typically with enough supply available to meet expected demand all week.

ERCOT projected power demand would peak at 75,296 megawatts ( MW) on May 24 and 75,952 MW on May 26, which would top the existing record for the month of May of 72,261 MW on May 20.

The grid's all-time peak was 85,508 MW on Aug. 10, 2023.

Experts anticipate ERCOT electric use will top that all-time high this summer with financial and population development in Texas and need for power from information centers, artificial intelligence ( AI) and cryptocurrency mining rising quickly.

One megawatt can generally power about 800 homes on a normal day however as few as 250 on a hot summer season day in Texas.

Heats in Houston, the most significant city in Texas, were forecast to increase from 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33.3 Celsius). on Thursday to 99 F on May 27, according to meteorologists at. AccuWeather.

The regular high in Houston at this time of year is 88 F.

Over the next week, ERCOT projected products would exceed. demand by as much as 42,500 MW throughout the morning of May 26 when. the sun begins to stimulate solar panels and by as low as. 6,600 MW at night of May 24 after the sun goes down and. solar panels stop working.

That comfortable level of supply assumes absolutely nothing modifications. But, things constantly change-- power plants and transmission lines. shut and go back to service, weather report modification and storms. cause blackouts.

ERCOT, for instance said it experienced the abrupt loss of. generation totaling 1,438 MW on May 22. That minimized materials.

There were, however, over 110,000 homes and companies. without power Thursday early morning due to storms overnight. Those. new blackouts minimized power demand and came after Texas energies. restored service to many consumers knocked out in extreme storms. recently.

(source: Reuters)