AUSTIN, Texas — The head of the state’s power grid operator said Tuesday that Texas is ready for the hotter temperatures in the months ahead.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said the highest risk time will be in August from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. due to hotter temperatures, along with an increased reliance on renewables.
“We are prepared for this summer,” Vegas said. “Because of the additional solar and storage resources and the forecasted summer weather conditions, the risk profile for the grid this summer compared to the last summer is about the same to slightly improved."
According to Vegas, the grid has added new power generation since last year, when Texas saw its second-hottest summer in history.
More than 9 gigawatts of solar and battery storage, 1.5 gigawatts of wind and 146 megawatts of natural gas have been added. ERCOT estimates that’s enough to power 2 million more homes.
But Ed Hirs, an Energy Fellow at the University of Houston, is skeptical.
“It was just two weeks ago that [Vegas] said that we had a 16% opportunity of going into emergency alerts and preparing for conservation and a 12% chance of rolling blackouts,” Hirs said. “So these statements don’t line up.”
Hirs said Texas needs more plants that can quickly turn on, known as dispatchable power. However, he warns that natural gas plants built today could take five years to come online.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Dan Woodfin, the vice president of System Operations for ERCOT, told the board his team is watching the tropical system in the Gulf of Mexico forecasted to bring heavy rain to Texas.
“We work with the PUC through the state operations center and Texas Department of Emergency Management to help them know what we’re seeing on the power system and then respond to anything that we need to do to coordinate with all those other entities,” Woodfin said.
At the end of the meeting, ERCOT Board Chair Paul Foster announced his resignation, effective Wednesday. Foster told board members he had spoken with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and wanted to allow enough time to find a replacement before the next legislative session in January.
Vice Chair Bill Flores will serve as interim chair.
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