ERCOT demand Tuesday flirted with 80 GW for the first time as the Texas grid operator set yet another record, its 10th, for peak demand this year.

Demand averaged 79.6 GW during the hour ending at 5 p.m. CT. It averaged 79.2 GW during the previous hour.

ERCOT was able to meet demand without issuing a conservation appeal and deploying non-spinning reserves or emergency response service, all of which it did last week. (See ERCOT Demand Hits Record for 9th Time.)

The grid operator had as much as 87 GW of committed capacity at one point during the afternoon. Solar production was again near capacity Tuesday after setting a record Monday with 9.6 GW of generation; it combined with wind resources to account for more than 25% of ERCOT’s power near the peak.

The grid operator is projecting demand to reach 81.5 GW on Wednesday. Staff in May forecasted demand to peak at 77.3 GW in August.

Dallas recorded its hottest day of the year Monday, with a high of 109 degrees Fahrenheit, 1 degree off the all-time record for that date. Many parts of North Texas are under an excessive heat warnings, with highs expected to stay above triple digits into next week.

With the record heat exacerbating the state’s drought conditions, the National Weather Service issued a red flag warning until midnight Wednesday for counties in North and Central Texas because of an elevated risk of wildfires.

One such fire, the Chalk Mountain Fire southwest of Fort Worth, tripled in size from Monday to Tuesday. A Texas A&M Forest Service spokesperson said the fire posed no threat to the nearby Comanche Peak nuclear plant, as it is surrounded by enough asphalt that it would be protected from flames.

SPP Shatters Demand Mark

SPP shattered last week’s record for peak demand Tuesday when its load hit 53.2 GW at 4:59 p.m. CT. That met SPP’s projections of a 53-GW peak as triple-digit temperatures settled over the Southern Plains.

The demand was the RTO’s fourth record peak of the summer, toppling the most recent mark of 52.03 GW set Friday. That peak bettered the previous high of 51.5 GW set July 11, which, in turn, surpassed the peak of 51.1 GW on July 5.

SPP began the summer with a record of 51 GW, set last July.

The grid operator extended a conservative operations advisory through 10 p.m. Wednesday because of continued high loads and risks related to available generation resources. The advisory had been scheduled to end Tuesday.

SPP and its members are also operating under a resource advisory through Thursday because of the pervasive high temperatures, high regionwide energy use and uncertain wind forecasts.

Neither advisory requires public conservation.