The ERCOT grid continues to operate under normal conditions, the grid operator said Monday, even as this summer’s peak demand is 4.3% higher than last summer’s.

The Texas grid operator recorded a new high for hourly peak demand average of 83.59 GW on Aug. 1. On Saturday, it recorded an unofficial high for weekend peak demand when load averaged 83.46 GW during the interval ending at 5 p.m.

In comparison, ERCOT set a then-record for peak demand of 80.15 GW last summer. Average hourly demand has exceeded that mark 90 times this summer, through Sunday.

ERCOT on Monday extended through Friday a weather watch, its fourth of the year, that it had issued for Sunday and Monday because of forecast higher temperatures and demand and the potential for lower reserves. It projected demand to break 86 GW on Monday and peak demands above 84 GW and higher through Friday.

Weather watches are issued when possible significant weather is expected along with high demand. They do not require public conservation. However, several utilities have been asking customers to reduce their usage.

“Grid conditions are expected to be normal,” ERCOT tweeted.

“Copy and paste. More heat and more sun,” Space City Weather said Friday in warning that Texas’ oppressive heat won’t break until next week at the earliest. “Any changes that take place in the weather pattern would not materialize before next weekend. So, buckle in.”

The sprawling Houston region finds itself underneath the brutal heat dome that is causing abnormal problems for vehicles. The National Weather Service issued excessive heat warnings for several counties in the region Friday as heat indexes soared as high as 113 degrees Fahrenheit.

In an email response to an interview request with ERCOT staff, the grid operator said it was not scheduling interviews and pointed to its new Texas Advisory and Notification System as a way to stay updated. (See “New Grid Notifications Added,” ERCOT Monitor Recommends New Market Design in Report.)

However, during a recent presentation last month in San Antonio to the Texas Public Power Association, ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said he is concerned about the grid’s long-term reliability, given the continued influx of wind, solar and storage resources. At the same time, he credited renewable energy with helping staff meet record demand.

“Peak demand kept growing,” Vegas said. “We’re in a place now where we are dependent upon renewables to meet demand.”

Solar resources produced a record 13.46 GW of energy Wednesday and, with wind, accounted for more than 31 GW of energy last month, according to GridStatus. ERCOT has more than 55 GW of solar and wind capacity and an additional 3.5 GW of battery storage.

Thermal outages have averaged around 6 GW in recent weeks. Still, prices settled as high as $2,886 at 5 p.m. Friday and didn’t drop from quadruple digits until after 8 p.m. Prices briefly reached $26.25 Sunday evening.