Texas Heat to Challenge State Grid’s Power Demand Record

A blast of intense heat across eastern Texas is set to challenge the state grid’s all-time power demand record.

Preliminary estimates from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot, show demand late Monday afternoon neared the 85.508 gigawatts record set in August 2023. The grid operator has forecast even higher peak loads Tuesday and Wednesday evening. As cooling demand spiked, the grid operator said more than 114 gigawatts was available to supply the system on Monday.

An Ercot spokesperson said the power demand record was not eclipsed on Monday, according to official meter readings.

Millions of Texans are under heat advisories this week as temperatures push past 100F (38C) from Dallas to Houston. Rising humidity from Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to bring the heat index as high as 112F in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

Repeated heat waves have strained power grids from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic this summer, triggering repeated emergency alerts and appeals to large industrial users to curb demand. At times, the US Department of Energy has also ordered power plant operators to run at maximum capacity, sidestepping some environmental limits.