Texas Power Grid Tested by Scorching Heat Wave as Thousand Left Without Power

The Texas power grid called for customers to cut back on their electricity use amid a heat wave that rolled through the area and other southern US states and sent temperatures into the triple digits.

Texas' power grid was put to the test this week after a sweltering heat wave consumed the US south and left thousands of people in the dark for hours.

On Tuesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) was able to meet the demands of their customers after they called for a voluntary cut back on power use, including air conditioning and other appliances as a heat wave rolled into the state following a weekend of severe weather in the southern US.

Tornadoes that ripped through the South over the weekend, with the majority of the storms centered in Mississippi, have caused widespread power outages due to the damage. By 11:10 p.m. EDT, at least 41,818 Texans were still without power, according to PowerOutage.us.

In Mississippi, 10,783 people were also without power, while another 111,955 people in Oklahoma and 51,708 customers in Louisiana were left in the dark.

The call by ERCOT to conserve energy lasted from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday evening, but the heat wave consuming the south has yet to yield.

ERCOT serves about 30 million residents and its call to cut energy use was the first of its kind made this year, but cautioned it was “not experiencing emergency conditions.”

However, the council added the state did set an unofficial record for the month on Monday for energy demand, per one report. The record for the highest energy use in the state was set in July of last year at 80,148 megawatts. On Tuesday, at 4 p.m. demand rose above 79,000 megawatts, nearly breaching last summer’s goal.

ERCOT has forecasted that power use will reach 81,191 megawatts on Wednesday.

In 2021, an ice storm in Texas managed to knock out power to millions of Texans for days, bringing to light serious tech issues and growing skepticism of the power grid’s capabilities to take on severe weather.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott said improvements have been made to the grid since the devastating storm; however, state lawmakers are continuing to push for changes to be made regarding how Texans get their power, including building more on-demand power solutions as opposed to wind and solar power.