ERCOT issues voluntary conservation notice Tuesday evening

June 20, 2023

by ERCOT release

AUSTIN – ERCOT is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use, if safe to do so, due to extreme temperatures and forecasted record demand. This Voluntary Conservation Notice is in effect Tuesday, June 20 from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. CT.

The Voluntary Conservation Notice is part of ERCOT’s Texas Advisory and Notification System, alerting the public of grid conditions. Last week, ERCOT issued a Weather Watch from June 15 – June 21 due to increased temperature and high demand.

ERCOT is requesting all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities.

ERCOT is not experiencing emergency conditions. Voluntary conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand for a specific period of peak demand time, which is typically late afternoon into the evening hours.

Yesterday, ERCOT broke the June peak demand record, unofficially, with 79,304 MW, passing last June’s record of 76,718 MW. Last summer, ERCOT set 11 new peak demand records. The current all-time record of 80,148 MW was set on July 20, 2022.

ERCOT is using additional tools to manage the grid reliably, including using reserve power, calling upon reductions by large electric customers that have volunteered to lower their energy use, and bringing more generation online sooner.

If you are experiencing an outage, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability. Please check with your local electric provider for more information.

Energy-saving tips can be found at ercot.com/txans.

Why the Need to Reduce Usage?

Extreme Heat. Much of Texas is seeing very high temperatures for an extended period.

Record Demand. Texas is seeing record demand due to the heat.

Thermal Outages. Forced thermal generation power plant outages are higher than normal.

Solar. Solar generation declines into the evening hours, before completely going offline at sunset.

Wind. Low wind generation compared to historic performance during summer peak.