Electricity demand in Texas reaches all-time high amid severe heatwave
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Customers are being urged by electricity officials to cut back on electricity use due to increased demand amid a weather pattern meteorologists call an 'omega block'.
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Power lines are shown in Houston, Texas in an undated photo. (AP)
The ongoing heat wave in Texas has put the state's electricity and power grid to the test as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages about 90% of the state’s power grid, reported an unofficial all-time high record for electricity demand this week due to the use of air conditioner and appliance necessities to stay cool.
Consumer demand surpassed nearly 81,000 megawatts of electricity on Tuesday, which exceeded last year’s record of 76,681 megawatts of electricity on June 23.
ERCOT has stated that the numbers are only preliminary and are not official just yet.
Earlier this month, customers were urged by ERCOT to cut back on electricity use, after predicting an increase in demand due to the heatwave, which has already killed a postal worker in Dallas after temperatures reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius).
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Since Texas’ power grid went offline in 2021 after an ice storm left residents without electricity for days, the grid's ability to withstand severe weather has been a debate among lawmakers insisting on more on-demand power, rather than wind and solar power.
The same severe heatwave that has entered its third week in Texas has brought rather cool rain to New England and hot weather to the Northwest and Northern Plains, in a pattern referred to by meteorologists as an “omega block".
This follows a pattern of destructive storms that cut power and brought the heat dome, as it is known, above Mexico and parts of the US southwest - caused by hot ocean air trapped in the atmosphere.
Andrew Pershing, director of climate science at non-profit Climate Central, said: "These conditions are very stressful to the people living in the region. We are seeing a really intense, widespread, and long-lasting event," and further said, "Human-caused climate change made these conditions more than five times more likely."
