ERCOT demand came within 12 MW of breaking the 80-GW barrier Wednesday afternoon, but the Texas grid operator was still able to set a record, its 11th of the year, as load averaged 79.8 GW during the hour ending at 5 p.m. CT.
Demand has averaged more than 79 GW five times the last two days. (See ERCOT, SPP Continue to Battle Extreme Heat.)
Temperatures have reached up to 115 degrees Fahrenheit in Texas and Oklahoma, as the Southern Plains continue to bake under a heat dome that is diverting the jet stream northward. Oklahoma City hit 110 F on Tuesday, breaking a record that stood since 1936, while Wichita Falls to the south reached 115, a July record.
Other cities in the region could face the same dangerous conditions in the next few days. The National Weather Service has issued heat advisories and excessive heat warnings in 28 states.
“Another day of exceptional heat lies ahead with triple-digit highs forecast for all of North and Central Texas,” wrote the National Weather Service in Fort Worth in an online technical discussion.
SPP, which set its latest record for peak demand Tuesday, again extended the conservative operations advisory for its 14-state balancing authority area by 24 hours because of continued high loads and generation availability. The advisory is now effective through 10 p.m. Thursday.
The RTO’s grid is also operating under a resource advisory through Thursday.
Neither advisory requires public conservation.
