ERCOT officials brace for cold temperatures ahead of winter
As the chilly weather continues to creep in, officials at ERCOT are warning of extreme temperatures. During a board meeting this week, top officials discussed potential weather threats and how well the electric grid will hold up during extreme temperatures.
The chief meterologist for the Energy Reliability Council of Texas, Chris Coleman, believes there is a greater than average possibility for extreme cold this winter. Similar to a tornado watch, Coleman referred to it as a ‘cold extreme watch’. Officials are also saying the electric grid is better equipped to handle the cold weather now than in years past.
"We’re actually getting these cold extremes are happening more frequently," said Coleman during Tuesday's board meeting. "You can have a warm winter in Texas and have a cold extreme, and that’s becoming more frequent."
Coleman told board members the state’s winter weather trends could be similar to the freeze and grid strain of 2021.
"Now, that doesn’t mean we’re going to have Uri, but again it does say that we’re in a pattern that supports something like a Uri this winter," said Coleman.
Coleman classifies extreme cold as temperatures in Texas as14 degrees or lower in Dallas, 19 degrees or lower in Austin, and 21 degrees or lower in Houston. He said five of the past eight winters, all three cities have met those thresholds. But despite potential weather threats, ERCOT is reassuring Texans that the state’s power grid is stronger than in past years.
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"The Texas legislature imposed requirement on critical power and natural gas facilities to be weatherized," said Harish Krishnamoorthy, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the Univeristy of Houston.
Since the freeze of 2021, ERCOT's CEO, Pablo Vargas, said there have been several reforms and grid improvements- including adding more storage to the grid and increasing battery storage.
ERCOT officials also said that winter power demand has surged in recent years and reached a record high of over 78,000 megawatts in January 2024.