ENVIRONMENT
Why are electricity rates so high in Texas amid the heat wave?
The cost of energy in the Lone Star state went through the roof on the weekend as a excessive heat caused huge demand.
Texans were not only blasted by the heat last weekend, their wallets were too. Big demand for energy as millions of people used their air conditioning set record levels of demand that sent prices 800% higher than usual.
On Saturday 5 August prices were at $275 per megawatt-hour before jumping up to $2,500 per megawatt-hour on Sunday. Prices were still high on Monday at $915 per megawatt-hour, Bloomberg reported.
Temperatures are to stay very hot this week. The largest cities will continue to have temperatures exceeding 100° until at least 22 August.
This week could break the record again, though the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said “there is currently enough capacity to meet forecasted demand.”
The weird Texas power grid situation
Texas operates its own power grid known as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). This grid is isolated from the two major national grids in the United States: the Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection, meaning there are few to no options to draw power from other sources in an emergency.
The severe winter storm in February 2021 led to a major power crisis in the state, highlighting the vulnerabilities of the independent system.