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ERCOT asks Austin Energy to shed more power, could mean outages for emergency services
https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/02/16/texas-power-outages-ercot-asks-austin-energy-shed-power/6763860002/ERCOT asks Austin Energy to shed more power, could mean outages for emergency services
Ryan Autullo and Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
Feb. 16, 2021
The state corporation in control of Texas' electric grid asked Austin Energy and other providers Tuesday morning to shed more power, underscoring the gravity of the on-going electricity situation, but local officials warned that doing so could mean pulling the plug on circuits used to power critical infrastructure such as hospitals and emergency response stations.
In an interview with the American-Statesman, Council Member Leslie Pool said the city pushed back against the request from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. Pool said she was briefed on the request by an assistant city attorney who was part of the conversation with the agency, which is commonly known as ERCOT.
"They may have to turn off the circuits for emergency infrastructure," Pool said. "We have literally shed everything that we can."
ERCOT spokesman Andrew Barlow confirmed Pool's account, adding the request was not Austin-specific but that providers statewide were asked to "curtail load." Barlow said power that had been restored late Monday statewide was reduced after facilities that typically generate electricity were unable to do so because of freezing temperatures and weather-related conditions.
The request to the city to shed more power came as nearly 220,000 Austin homes were without energy. That's about 43% of the utilities' customer base.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he is frustrated and demanding answers from ERCOT.
"ERCOT has to explain how millions of Texans are without power," he said. "Rolling outages are not that. There have to be systemic changes. This is happening every 10 years and there's got to be a better plan."
South Austin (Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune)