ERCOT Calls for Conservation Tuesday
Tuesday is expected to be the third consecutive day with temperatures well into the triple-digits, prompting the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to ask for conservation efforts in the afternoon.
ERCOT sent out an alert at about 9 a.m. Tuesday asking residents and businesses to conserve electricity between the peak usage hours of 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. -- when usage is expected to exceed 65,000 megawatts.
While ERCOT expects to have adequate power to serve customers through the hottest part of the day, conservation is requested with the anticipated usage inching closer to the all-time peak record of 68,379 megawatts (Aug. 3, 2011). On Monday, Texans set a record for power usage in June with 65,047 megawatts used between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.
Each megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes during the peak period.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ERCOT-Calls-for-Conservation-Tuesday-160374215.html