AUSTIN, Texas — ERCOT has been issuing weather watches and conservation alerts for days as the power grid continues to see record usage this summer in Texas. Not only is the power grid stressed, customers across Texas say their wallets are too.
Four days of back-to-back alerts from ERCOT urged Texans to voluntarily cut back their energy use.
"We generally have a few of those per year. I don't know when I can remember seeing four in a row. But it has been hot," said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin.
Rhodes said with a record-breaking summer like we're seeing, supply and demand for energy are nearly catching up to each other.
"What we're looking at in those charts is we're looking at a line that shows how much power we can make versus how much power that it looks like we are going to want to consume," Rhodes said.
Plenty of Central Texans sounded off on social media, saying they've been seeing higher utility costs, despite conservation efforts.
Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said with hotter months, there will be higher bills. But it comes down to how much each energy company is selling off its energy for.
"We're a public utility, we generate power – that helps our customers. That's why our rates are as low as any in Texas minus El Paso, which I think has got us beat by maybe a cent or two," Mitchell said.
Efforts like cutting back on using ovens and dishwashers or kicking the thermostat up a couple degrees can help.
Austin Energy has a way to remotely do some of this for customers that opt into the "Power Partner" program. It allows the utility company to change customers' thermostats on high-use days.
"It's a couple of ticks, it's a few degrees, you know, just a little bit here. And if for any reason, I'm like, 'Now, I'm not down for that today,' I just turn it right back down. It's not, it's not any big deal. It's all voluntary," Mitchell said.
According to Austin Energy's website, customers can also opt out of the "Power Partner" program later.
As far as the state grid this summer, both Rhodes and Mitchell agree that it's holding up well and we haven't come close to emergency responses yet.
"If it escalates further, then you look into those controlled outages that ERCOT would mandate," Mitchell said.
Both noted that a little conservation from each person can make a big impact.