Watson Wire: Conserving to Protect the Grid

Remember July with its ample rainfall, unseasonably tolerable temperatures and stable electric grid? Yeah, those were the days.

But it’s August now, and the statewide electric grid — overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — could get tight over the rest of the summer as the temperature (and AC use) spikes across the state.

Austin Energy , our city-owned electric utility, is required to follow the ERCOT directives to reduce energy usage, often with little advance notice. For you, that means Austin Energy could be asking for immediate conservation of electricity and will need everyone to be ready to take steps — usually small ones — to help stabilize the grid.

We know how critical electric service is to our customers and community, especially for our neighbors who need electricity for medical devices. Small changes at your home or office really can have an instantaneous effect on the statewide electric grid and, hopefully, avoid ERCOT-mandated controlled outages.

Conserving on days when it’s needed makes a HUGE difference. Adjustments to AC temperature, not running appliances, turning off lights, businesses being smart about their usage in late afternoon/early evening, etc. is extremely effective.

Sure, all that might sound trivial, but AE can see the “load curve” go down immediately when folks heed the message to conserve. The curve going down means less electricity is being consumed and the available power generation on the grid is more likely to be sufficient.

What to Expect

Right now, ERCOT is in “Normal Conditions” so all you’re being asked to do is to practice everyday energy conservation.

But grid conditions can change suddenly because the electricity fed into the grid must always be equal to the amount of electricity consumed. Austin Energy will communicate to the public when conditions change, and we might need you take immediate action. This will usually be during the hottest part of the day.

If grid conditions reach emergency levels, ERCOT issues conservation directives to utilities across the state designed to keep power flowing. It’s not until the last level – Energy Emergency Alert 3 – that ERCOT mandates controlled outages to protect the integrity of the statewide grid. That means ERCOT will dictate that Austin Energy must turn off the power to some folks to conserve energy.

Austin Energy has no choice but to implement ERCOT-mandated controlled outages. The timing of these outages depends on grid conditions and ERCOT direction. If that happens this summer, Austin Energy will roll or rotate the outages through Austin in short increments to limit the impact on any one area. Additionally, AE will take steps to protect critical infrastructure such as water treatment plants, hospitals, or public safety facilities.

Actions by residents and businesses during those hours will help all of us avoid this or it being worse. Our community coming together to conserve means that the lights —? and AC —? can stay on.

You can find information about the local and statewide grid – along with tips for saving energy and staying cool at austinenergy.com/alerts .