Despite cold temperatures, the latest forecasts indicate there will be more than enough electricity available to meet Texans’ demand.
AUSTIN, Texas — The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a Weather Watch for Jan. 6 through Jan. 10, as temperatures plummet across the state.
The grid operator said Sunday it expects conditions to be normal during the watch, but that cold weather could prompt higher electricity demand.
“ERCOT is monitoring conditions closely and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid, continuing a reliability-first approach to operations,” the organization said.
Current models indicate electricity will be plentiful this week. Even at the coldest hour, the grid operator predicts it will have 13 gigawatts more electricity than Texans will demand.
Forecasted temperatures are not low enough to cause an electricity shortage, Texas Energy and Power Newsletter author Doug Lewin said.
“Not only is this not Winter Storm Uri (2021), this is not Winter Storm Elliott (2022) or Winter Storm Heather (2024),” Lewin said. “I would put the changes of [rolling] outages below 10%. It’s not zero, but I just think they’re quite low.”
Snow or ice could snap power lines in some neighborhoods, though. Weather models suggest Dallas-Fort Worth could see wintry precipitation this week.
The time for the coldest air and strongest winds to coincide and bring the harshest wind chills will be Monday morning just before sunrise. With wind gusts up to 35 mph from the north and temperatures in the low 20s across North Texas.
According to ERCOT, no action is needed from residents as there is no current expectation for an energy emergency, however, Texans are encouraged to monitor real-time grid conditions at ercot.com.