Two months after a winter storm that caused massive power outages, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) urges customers to conserve energy.
“Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use this afternoon and into the evening,” the agency said on Twitter.
Later on April 13, ERCOT tweeted, “Our energy conservation appeal has ended without the need for an energy emergency. Thank you for conserving energy when it was needed.”
The warning prompted concern from a Texas congressman.
"Despite everything Texas has been through over the last few months, leaders in our state still haven’t made sufficient steps toward reforming our grid to protect the lives and livelihoods of millions of Texans," U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey ( D-Fort Worth) said in a statement.
Electric demand is typically low in the spring and fall, ERCOT said in a news release April 14. But that doesn't mean there won't be "tight grid conditions," ERCOT said.
“Tight conditions are not always a direct result of high demand on the electric system,” it said. “During the spring and fall seasons, electric demand (load) may be relatively low, but there are typically a large number of generators that are out of service for scheduled maintenance. As a result, there is less overall generation capacity available to serve electricity demand.”
The weather also fluctuated more in the spring and fall, “resulting in a significant amount of variability on the electric system due to changing demand and renewable output,” the ERCOT news release said.
Maintenance on generators is typically conducted in the spring to prepare for the high demand in the summer months, ERCOT said.
"Just like maintaining your car, generators must be maintained to keep them running smoothly," said ERCOT Vice President of Grid Planning and Operations Woody Rickerson. "ERCOT must balance these necessary outages with serving load during the spring and fall months, especially given increased weather volatility."
At least 4.5 million Texas power customers lost electricity during the February storm, at least 57 people died from the cold and 12 million people were under boil water notices because of water quality issues, PBS reported.