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ERCOT Has Issued a Conservation Appeal for Tuesday, January 16, from 6:00 – 9:00 a.m.

With the winter storm encompassing the entire state and temperatures forecasted to be colder this evening and into tomorrow morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is asking Texans to conserve electricity use, if safe to do so, Tuesday, January 16, from 6:00 – 9:00 a.m. CT.  ERCOT is forecasting higher demand tomorrow morning as Texans return to work and schools reopen.

This morning, ERCOT avoided emergency operations due to the conservation efforts by Texas residents and businesses, combined with additional grid reliability tools.

ERCOT is expecting similar conditions on Wednesday, January 17, and will continue to closely monitor conditions and keep the public informed. Tomorrow’s conservation appeal does not indicate ERCOT is experiencing emergency conditions at this time.

ERCOT is requesting all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities until at least 9:00 a.m., tomorrow.  

More information is available at ercot.com. 

Why the Request to Reduce Usage?  

  • Weather. Most of Texas is seeing extremely cold temperatures for an extended period of time. 
  • Demand. Texas is experiencing record-breaking demand due to the cold weather. 
  • Solar. Solar generation isn’t available in the early morning hours, which is a peak demand time during winter, and slowly ramps up as the sun rises. 
  • Wind. Wind generation is forecasted to be lower than seasonally expected in the early morning hours.  

How can I reduce my electrical use?
Energy-saving tips can be found at nbutexas.com/cold-weather-conservation.

Peak Demand 

  • Last night, ERCOT set a new January peak demand of 70,982 MW in the 8-9 p.m. hour, passing the previous January peak demand record of 65,915 MW set January 17, 2018, in the 7-8 a.m. hour.
  • Today, ERCOT has already broken that January peak and set a new all-time winter peak demand record with 75,559 MW in the 9-10 a.m. hour.
  • The previous winter peak demand record of 74,525 MW was set December 23, 2022, in the 7-8 a.m. hour during Winter Storm Elliott.
  • In 2023, January peak demand was 65,632 MW in the 6-7 p.m. hour January 31.
  • The all-time peak demand record of 85,508 MW occurred August 10, 2023.
  • View ERCOT’s all-time peak demand records.