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Texas heat wave sends power need to all-time high for May

Power usage in Texas broke the record for the month of May on Monday and will likely top that high over the next week as homes and businesses keep their air conditioners cranked up to get away a spring heat wave.

Extreme weather in Texas is a reminder 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 scrambled to prevent the power system from collapsing.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) stated the system was currently operating generally with adequate supply offered to satisfy anticipated demand all week.

ERCOT said power demand hit an initial 72,261 megawatts ( MW) on May 20, which topped the previous record for the month of May, 71,645 MW embeded in 2022.

That record came as a surprise to some in the market considering that ERCOT projected lower need earlier in the day due in part to remaining power outages in the Houston area from extreme storms last week.

The record will likely not stand for long with ERCOT forecasting demand will reach 73,537 MW on May 21, 74,904 MW on May 24, 75,310 MW on May 26 and 75,868 MW on May 27.

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 increasing quick.

One megawatt can usually power about 800 homes on a regular day however as couple of as 250 on a hot summertime day in Texas.

Heats in Houston, the greatest city in Texas, struck 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.2 Celsius) for a third day in a row on Monday and will likely remain because range through May 23 before increasing to around 95 F on May 27, according to meteorologists at AccuWeather.

The normal high in Houston at this time of year is 87 F.

Despite the record for the month of May, area power costs at the ERCOT North Center << EL-PK-ERTN-SNL >, that includes Dallas, eased to$ 32 per megawatt hour( MWh )for Tuesday from$ 34 for Monday and approximately$ 47 over the prior 7 days, according to prices information on the LSEG terminal. That compares with approximately $30 per MWh

this year,$ 80. in 2023 and $66 over the previous 5 years