AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced its summer predictive models for electricity supply and demand. ERCOT said there will be enough power throughout the summer months.
Experts with Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy and Austin Energy say diversity in power generating sources will be key.
"It's not just about having a power plant around that is available to produce 24/7, 365 [days a year]," Dr. Melissa Lott, the director of research at Columbia's Center on Global Energy Policy, said. "It's about having a mix of technologies that keeps our power bills low."
Lott, who lives in Austin, added that each energy producer has tradeoffs.
"Every single one of our types of power plants can unexpectedly trip offline, especially if they're not maintained properly," Lott said. "If we're going to have hotter summers moving forward more consistently, how can we be building on a system that can handle those things and do it at the same time, keeping power prices low?"
Lott outlined solar power does really well this time of year because of longer, sunnier days, while wind power operates below 100% capacity because it's not as windy this time of year, especially during the day. Her main tradeoff for fossil fuel and natural gas come at the expense of environmental concerns.
"I have a lot of confidence in our ability – the technology exists," said Sara Norris, who heads Austin Energy's Customer Renewable Solutions Programs. "It's about being smarter about how we implement it, deploy the technology."
According to Norris, at any given time on any given day, Austin's power production comes from a variety of resources.
"We're not putting all of our eggs in one basket in terms of doubling down on natural gas or going all in on wind and solar," Norris said. "We're trying to diversify."
Both Norris and Lott argue that using different power generators helps keep prices low as the demand for electricity changes.
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