ERCOT set a new winter peak for demand Jan. 16 as it easily met demand during a frigid blast that pushed temperatures 30 to 50 degrees below normal in Texas. 

The grid operator had expected electricity consumption to match the record levels set last summer, projecting demand as high at 86 GW as the winter storm approached. However, demand averaged 78.14 GW during the interval ending at 8 a.m. Jan. 16. 

That broke the previous winter mark set the day before, when demand averaged 76.34 GW during the 9 p.m. interval, surpassing the previous record of 74.53 GW set in December 2022. It also exceeded ERCOT’s earlier all-time peak of 74.53 GW set in 2019. 

The ISO issued conservation appeals for Jan. 15 and the morning of Jan. 16. With a hard freeze expected as far south as Houston, ERCOT is expecting similar conditions the morning of Jan. 17. 

The grid operator thanked Texas residents and businesses on X. 

“Your conservation efforts, along with additional grid reliability tools, helped us get through record-breaking peak times today and yesterday morning,” it posted Jan. 16. 

ERCOT was also boosted by energy storage and solar resources. Batteries peaked at more than 1,200 MW during the early morning hours Jan. 16; solar produced a record 14.21 GW of energy at 10:40 a.m.  

The grid’s staff said in December that there was a 1-in-6 chance of outages this winter if conditions matched those of the 2022 winter storm. While the temperatures have been frigid — Dallas has been below freezing since the afternoon of Jan. 13, with a low of 11 degrees Fahrenheit the morning of Jan. 15 — thermal outages were slightly below average at 7 GW. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) took to X to praise ERCOT’s “flawless” performance, a credit, he said, to recent measures to weatherize critical facilities and strengthen the grid. 

Wholesale electricity prices hit $500/MWh during one 15-minute interval the morning of Jan. 16 but have generally stayed below $200/MWh since Jan. 13.