AUSTIN, Texas — Thursday was another record-breaking day in regard to energy use across the Lone Star State.
The state used a record amount of energy, peaking at around 76,708 MW according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) demand tracker. That's up from the previous record, set Monday, of 76,600 MW in a single day. Both times, the electric grid met the demand placed on it.
After seeing those two numbers just days apart, it seems like Texas is breaking record after record this summer with heat and the energy used to keep homes and businesses cool.
Energy experts, such as Joshua Rhodes with Warp Energy Group at UT, said growth is partly to blame.
"Peak demand generally grows every year. As populations increase, more and more people move to Texas. It's almost a joke at this point that, you know, a lot more people are moving to Texas from other states. And when they get here, they're going to want air conditioning, just like those of us that have been here for a while," Rhodes said.
He added that he's not surprised to see the new records.
"It doesn't surprise me one bit that we're already, or that we've set a new peak. And I expect this to continue to do that throughout the summer," Rhodes said.
ERCOT has said it expects to meet the high demand for power. So far, despite record temperatures, there have been no power conservation alerts issued.
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