ERCOT

ERCOT is asking Texans to conserve electricity from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday as tight grid conditions are expected.

ERCOT and local energy companies have been alerting Texans to reduce their energy use during peak hours, but other than asking politely, there’s not much they can do to force people to comply.

CPS Energy said it would return to its Yellow Alert after ERCOT’s Energy Emergency Alert Level 2 has been discontinued. ERCOT said Wednesday night that it would move to Energy Emergency Alert Level 1.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas issued a Weather Watch for Wednesday thru Friday due to forecasted higher temperatures, higher electrical demand, and the potential for lower reserves.

After several days of asking Texans to conserve energy, ERCOT is shaking up its leadership and creating a new position.

Record-high power demand and faltering electricity sources have tested the grid in the past month, forcing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to dig deep into its toolbox to keep power flowing.

Texans are being asked to conserve energy Wednesday evening as tight grid conditions are expected to continue, according to ERCOT.

ERCOT is requesting Texans to conserve energy on Tuesday evening as tight grid conditions are expected.

ERCOT and CPS Energy are urging Texans to conserve their energy use on Saturday evening due to the expectation for tight grid conditions.

ERCOT is urging Texans to conserve their energy use Saturday afternoon and evening due to the expectation for tight grid conditions.

The grid operator asked Texans to reduce power use from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. to avoid a power-supply emergency.

ERCOT is urging Texans to conserve their energy use on Friday evening due to the expectation for tight grid conditions.

Residents across Texas should brace for the possibility of rolling power outages Thursday evening, local officials said.

Due to low wind-power generation and high demand, operating reserves for ERCOT are expected to be low for several hours Thursday, prompting an appeal for Texans to conserve electricity use, from 3-10 p.m.

The latest conservation request from ERCOT — the third in the past week — sought to reduce power demand from 3 to 10 p.m. Thursday.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is urging locals to reduce electricity use due to the extreme heat.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has issued a voluntary conservation notice for Texans due to extreme forecasted heat.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas has extended a Weather Watch for a second consecutive week due to 100-plus-degree high temperatures, higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves.

Driving around Texas and San Antonio -- you might notice more companies installing solar panels – and even solar canopies.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas has issued a Weather Watch due to high temperatures, higher electrical demand and the potential for lower reserves

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas issued a Weather Watch for this week due to high temperatures in the forecast.

The all-Republican court narrowly found that the nonprofit corporation operating the state’s electrical grid qualifies for sovereign immunity, which protects government entities from lawsuits.

ERCOT is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use from 4– 8 p.m. Tuesday due to extreme temperatures and forecasted record demand.

Texans were asked to conserve energy from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday as temperatures climb over 100 degrees for much of the state.

The Electrical Reliability Council of Texas issued a weather watch Tuesday that will be effective late this week to early next, from June 15 to June 21.

Public Utility Commission chair Peter Lake had spearheaded a plan to help the state’s power grid withstand weather disasters, but the plan lacked support in the Texas Legislature.

Electric Reliability Council of Texas officials are set to give an update to Texans regarding the reliability of the state’s power grid.

After the snow and ice of February 2021 had melted and power and water service finally returned, catastrophe turned to criticism. Lawmakers and power providers have since gone to work in hopes that it doesn't happen again.

It’s an event that those of us around Texas will likely remember for the rest of our lives: The Big Freeze of February 2021.

Tens of thousands of Austin households and businesses went days without electricity after a winter storm wreaked havoc across Texas.

Friends in North Austin removed downed trees from neighbors’ roofs, while closer to the city core, volunteers rushed to meet the immediate needs of people without homes — those most severely impacted by the freezing temperatures.

At least one person died in the freezing weather. High demand for electricity is forecast to continue into Saturday.

Gov. Greg Abbott is holding a news conference on Wednesday morning ahead of the hard freeze that’s expected to hit Texas on Thursday afternoon.

The leaders of Texas’ top utilities say the grid is stable enough to handle the state’s demand for the winter season.

The proposal is aimed at making sure power providers and electricity generators have enough power on hand in case of increased demand. But it’s not clear how it would hold up in unexpected weather, an expert said.

The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has closed its criminal inquiry into power outages related last year’s deadly winter storm without filing any charges, BCSO officials confirmed Monday.

The governor shared the favorable forecast — which is normal for the fall months — ahead of a competitive race in which the grid’s performance during last year’s fatal winter storm may factor into Texans’ decisions at the polls.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has named a non-Texan as its new CEO.

With energy consumption high this summer and the cost of fuel used to create electricity also up, Texans are seeing higher utility bills. An energy fellow at the University of Houston explains why those bills are going up.

Power outages are a possibility during any severe weather event. But a local power outage is different from a larger power grid problem.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and Patrick about the power grid, the race for governor and the extra money the Texas Legislature will have on hand to spend next year.

In an interview with the Houston Chronicle, ERCOT Interim president and CEO Brad Jones said forecasters for the organization did not anticipate the extreme heat and projected on the hottest day of summer that the grid demand would reach 77,300 megawatts.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is urging Texans to conserve energy on Wednesday as triple-digit temperatures are once again in the forecast.

Flames at a CPS Energy substation intensified Monday’s weather conditions in San Antonio, cutting off power to thousands on the South Side for hours.

ERCOT is urging Texas to conserve energy on Monday, as we are expected to see extreme temperatures again.

CPS Energy customers are frustrated with their recent energy bills, saying this is the last thing they need on top of high gas prices and inflation.

The state’s grid operater was able to maintain supply without needing to call for any conservation.

ERCOT predicts the statewide energy demand will be record-breaking this Friday, with demand expected to hit 77 Gigawatts. CPS Energy officials say they’re ready to meet growing demand.

The recent heatwave has many people concerned about whether the Texas power grid can keep up with the demand and usage as we head into the summer.

ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas who operates the power grid for the state, is expected to talk to the media this afternoon about its summer assessment on power usage.

After six power facilities went offline Friday, the state’s main power grid operator is asking residents across the state to conserve power this weekend amid sweltering temperatures.

Texas is about to get very hot with the weather forecasted to hit triple digits this weekend in many areas across the state, including San Antonio.

After 2021’s winter storm electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers worked to shore up the state’s electric grid. But they’re not finished, despite what you might hear from campaigning politicians.

The first really cold weather of the year came and went without straining the state’s electric grid — a welcome relief for voters and for politicians, who didn’t want a repeat of 2021's winter blackouts.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell and James about how Texas held up during the wintry weather, plus the struggles of the National Guard during their border deployment.

Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a news conference following his briefing with statewide officials about the response to the second day of the winter storm.

In the wake of last year's freeze, CPS Energy says it has spent $2 million on preparing its power plants -- built to operate in Texas summers -- to hold up and keep operating in the freezing cold, too.

Texas faces a new winter storm a year after a deadly freeze left millions without power. Here’s the latest.

Although this week’s strong cold front won’t be as extreme as last year's freeze, families should still prepare.

From the winter storm and the Astroworld tragedy to new Texas laws and trash diving in the River Walk, these are the stories y’all read most this year.

While February’s deadly winter storm not only left hundreds of thousands of San Antonio residents without power in subfreezing temperatures, some for days on end, it also exposed a large number of organizational issues within CPS Energy, the largest public power company in the nation.

In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell, James and Karen about the status of the power grid and the pandemic heading into winter.

Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll.

We want to hear from Texans about how this catastrophic event is still affecting their lives.

The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February.

It’s been six months since the deadly February winter storm left millions across the state without power for days, and many questions about what went wrong remain unanswered. The KSAT Explains team and the Defenders have been closely following the fallout of the storm. We take a look at four things we've learned so far.

Airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17: A special collaboration between KSAT Explains and the Defenders

Senate bills 2 and 3 were heralded by Texas Gov. Abbott as the antidote to February’s deadly power outages. Here’s what they do.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released a new plan Tuesday to address improvements and outline reforms to the Texas Power Grid, according to a news release.

The Committee on Emergency Preparedness presented its analysis of what went wrong during the extended freezing temperatures and how the city and its utilities could prepare better next time.

The Public Utility Commission said the state's main power grid operator will have three days — instead of 60 — to release some information about power plant outages. But that may not include why the electricity generators were offline.

On Monday, ERCOT requested Texans turn their thermostats up to 78 degrees and higher to conserve energy because, once again, the power grid is not working as it should.

“This is the sort of weather that a well-functioning Texas power grid should have no trouble meeting,” Cohan said. “These shouldn’t be such close calls.”

A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why.

This Texas heat has been barbecuing us all, especially with the recent ERCOT news. The heat has been so bad that it’s got everyone in a heated mood.

The Bexar County Office of Emergency Management has opened eight cooling centers to help residents get a reprieve from the heat, as ERCOT and CPS Energy have asked people to reduce electric use.

As ERCOT asks Texans to conserve energy and take it easy on the AC, you can help keep cool by using that ceiling fan.

A map recently produced by CPS Energy showed something many San Antonio residents suspected was true during Winter Storm Uri — outages were vastly unequal between neighborhoods.

The city of San Antonio is hoping the final findings of the February winter storm’s response efforts are polished before being released, which is why the date of release is now June 24 instead of June 15.

The City of San Antonio has opened cooling centers across town for residents needing shelter from the heat.

A Conservation Alert was issued Monday advising that the demand for energy was getting close to the state’s energy supply level.

Gov.Greg Abbott will hold a press conference Tuesday at the Texas Capitol where he will sign legislation into law to reform the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and weatherize and improve the reliability of the state’s power grid.

The board overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the independent nonprofit entity that operates and manages the electricity grid that covers much of Texas, named former executive Brad Jones on Tuesday to be interim president and CEO.

For the second mild spring day in a row, officials with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, said Wednesday that they were dealing with tight energy grid conditions.

The state’s main power grid operator asked Texans to conserve power Tuesday afternoon and into the evening as the electricity grid is barely keeping up with the demand for electricity.

The public’s job approval rating of CPS Energy took a nosedive following February’s deadly winter storm and widespread power outages, according to a new poll of likely Bexar County voters.

As CPS Energy continues to file lawsuits against entities it claims contributed to massive natural gas bills it racked up during February’s winter storm, energy experts and officials from some the companies targeted by the suits say the utility’s poor risk management is to blame.

In mid-February, Texas was hit with a winter storm unlike any we’ve seen in years. In the wake of that storm, Texans are left with many questions.

As the updated death toll from February’s winter storm reached 111 deaths last week, the severity of its full force has continued to come into focus. AdThe Electric Reliability Council of Texas manages the state’s main power grid, which represents 90% of Texas’ electric load and serves more than 26 million customers, according to the agency. Black Texans were “modestly more likely” to have lost power than white Texans, according to the study. The company wants lawmakers to create a revenue stream to Berkshire through an additional charge on Texans’ power bills. Ad“In 2011, when we were asking questions about that winter storm, we were receiving promises and commitments that winterization would occur so that sort of thing wouldn't happen again,” he said.

Congress is looking into the cause of the power blackouts across Texas last month. A House panel planned to hear Wednesday, March 24, 2021, from officials who oversee the state's energy industry and electric grid. (AP Photo/LM Otero File)DALLAS – Congress is looking into last month’s massive and deadly power outages across Texas and questioning officials who oversee the state’s energy industry and electric grid. After outages in February 2011, Robb’s group recommended that Texas power plants needed better protection against winter storms. AdHouston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the Texas grid was designed for peak summer heat, and policymakers wrongly believed that the 2011 severe winter storm was an anomaly.

A PUC spokesperson said Walker was “ceaselessly” on the phone, calling Nye about dozens of natural gas facilities that weren't on Oncor’s “critical” list. “There were phone calls every day.”By Wednesday, Feb. 17, natural gas supply in the state hit its lowest point during the storm, experts said. The Texas Energy Reliability Council — a voluntary body with no regulatory authority — usually meets twice a year. AdReliance on electricity, however, made the state’s electric power system a loop rather than a chain: Electricity relied on natural gas production, and natural gas production relied on electricity. So when demand for natural gas spiked during the frigid weather, homes got natural gas and some power plants didn’t, he said.

As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas' power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. Currently, the Texas power market operates as “energy-only,” which encourages scarcity because generators are paid only when they provide power. “I absolutely think that the decision to deregulate Texas’ power grid was a mistake. At the state level, Texas should have created some type of emergency fund or plan to prepare for a winter storm. “By deregulating Texas’ power grid from others in the U.S. state leaders left us vulnerable and literally in the dark.

Bexar County Judge Nelson WolffWhat could have been done differently at the local level to better prepare for and respond to the deadly storm? “ERCOT, the manager of the state energy grid, forced CPS Energy to shed load during the long freeze event, which was the root cause of the outages in our community. We must also examine backup generators for water pumping stations.”AdDo you believe state leaders’ decision to deregulate Texas’ power grid was a mistake? “The deregulation of the state power grid answers the call of a market-based economy. We need: better communication; better coordination; and better preparation.

The company that drew attention after sending huge electricity bills to customers after last month’s blackout-causing winter storm in Texas has filed for bankruptcy protection. Its rates skyrocketed during the February deep freeze, when state grid operators raised wholesale prices. The company blamed its situation on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the power grid in most of the state. Griddy’s bankruptcy plan proposes to waive claims against customers for charges they incurred from Feb. 15 through Feb. 19, while the $9,000 per megawatt hour price for wholesale power was in effect. Griddy is the third company to seek bankruptcy protection due to the storm, after Brazos Electric Power Cooperative Inc. and Canadian natural gas provider Just Energy Group.

SAN ANTONIO – CPS Energy on Friday sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after an independent monitor for the Public Utility Commission reported the grid managers overcharged power companies during the winter storm. In the lawsuit, CPS Energy accused ERCOT of not paying what it owes to the San Antonio utility. “ERCOT has short paid approximately $2.5 billion to the market participants, and at least $18 million is owed to CPS Energy for the Winter Storm Event,” according to the court filing. “CPS Energy is taking this action to defend its customers. Price charts for the natural gas spot market show natural gas increased nearly two-fold Feb. 11, before spiking Feb. 17.

Lubbock officials initially planned to join ERCOT once its 15-year-long contract with Xcel Energy, a member of the Southwestern Public Service Company, expires. Spencer lives in Lubbock, one of the few areas of the state not connected to Texas’ independent power grid. AdThe failures of Texas’ independent power grid have led to some counties mulling a way out. Lubbock officials initially planned to join ERCOT once its 15-year-long contract with Xcel Energy, a member of the Southwestern Public Service Company, expires. Lubbock City Councilperson Jeff Griffith he still feels confident Lubbock will move forward with the plans to join ERCOT.

Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune​The state’s energy grid operator overcharged power companies by roughly $3 billion after the winter storm, the chairman of Texas’ utility regulator said Thursday, pushing back on a previous report from an agency watchdog that said the companies were overcharged by $16 billion. But a letter submitted Thursday by Potomac Economics repeated that ERCOT overcharged companies by $16 billion. AdIt is still unclear whether and how this overcharge directly affects Texas electricity customers, however many power companies have taken a significant financial hit. In Texas, wholesale power prices are determined by supply and demand: When demand is high, ERCOT allows prices to go up. During the storm, the PUC directed the grid operator to set wholesale power prices at $9,000 per megawatt-hour — the maximum price.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas will have an open meeting on Friday morning to discuss the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and other topics related to electricity and water following last month’s deadly winter storm. The PUC meeting is scheduled to take place at 9:30 a.m. According to PUC, the meeting will touch on electric reliability, the electric market development, ERCOT oversight, cost recovery in areas outside of ERCOT, and electric reliability standards and organizations arising under federal law. According to Potomac Economics, an independent market monitor for the PUC, ERCOT kept the price of power too high after the outages ended. His outrage has not extended to the state’s PUC, which oversees ERCOT and is led by Abbott appointees.