The rolling power outages are over, but the state's energy regulator would still like for you to conserve electricity. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) says it is ending the emergency procedures it put in place early yesterday morning.
Peak demand reached 55,460 megawatts between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. today. That was much higher than usual, but it didn't break the peak demand record of 56,334 megawatts set Wednesday night between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
“We are very appreciative of the sacrifices of those who were without power during the rotating outages, and we also appreciate the conservation efforts by consumers during this emergency situation, as well as the load resources in our demand response programs,” ERCOT CEO Trip Doggett said in a news release.
“With continued cold temperatures and snow predicted across the state, we ask that everyone continue to conserve their electricity usage until temperatures moderate."
ERCOT is holding a news conference at 1 p.m. to talk about yesterday's events. Reporters are likely to ask questions about how 7,000 megawatts of power went offline, crippling the state's energy grid and prompting the rolling outages.
