Hours after canceling its emergency conservation notice issued Tuesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued another advisory warning of a potential shortage of reserve power Wednesday.
Late Tuesday, the agency sent out the following message to retail electric providers and the Texas Public Utility Commission:
“Capacity Insufficiency: ERCOT is issuing an OCN for a projected reserve capacity shortage for hours ending 13:00 through 20:00. ERCOT is requesting all QSE’s to update their COPs.”
ERCOT is not yet asking people and businesses to conserve electricity, but the message is an indication that such a request could be made of Texans again Wednesday.
Officials at ERCOT said Tuesday’s conservation request due to high generator outages, which is typical for April, and higher-than-forecasted demand caused by a stalled cold front over Texas.
ERCOT Vice President of Grid Planning and Operations Woody Rickerson released the following statement about Tuesday’s notice:
“Due to a combination of high generation outages typical in April and higher-than-forecasted demand from a stalled cold front over Texas, ERCOT may enter into emergency conditions this afternoon.
“Given the event in February, it is important to note that we do not expect customer outages. Rather, this emergency declaration allows us to access tools that will bring supply and demand back into line.”
Source: www.click2houston.com
