Texas Heatwave hits 65,443 MegaWatt Peak Demand for Electricity

Texas is more than a month into a brutal heatwave that is straining the electrical grid and setting temperature records, electricity usage records, and power pricing records. It was 105 degrees F in Austin and 109 degrees F in Houston over the weekend and those triple-digit temperatures are expected to continue until it cools down to the high-nineties later this week.

ERCOT suggests that, “Consumers can help by shutting off unnecessary lights and electrical appliances between 3 and 7 p.m., and delaying laundry and other activities requiring electricity-consuming appliances until later in the evening.”

Peak-hour demand has exceeded 66,000 megawatts on 15 weekdays this month and exceeded 67,000 megawatts on at least five days, according to initial data from ERCOT. That far outpaces last summer when power demand peaked at 65,776 megawatts during the first week of school in late August according to a Reuters article.