Latest News

Texas everyday power need sets record for May intake

Texas' everyday power usage set a record for the month of May for the 6th time this month, the state grid operator stated on Monday, as homes and organizations fired up a/c throughout a heat wave.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which runs the majority of the state's power grid for 27 million consumers, said need skyrocketed to a preliminary 77,126 megawatts ( MW) on Monday. This broke the former record for the month of May of 74,997 MW set earlier in the day.

Experts expect electrical energy intake will strike an all-time high this summer amid economic and population growth in Texas and increasing demand for power from data centers, synthetic intelligence and cryptocurrency mining. The grid's all-time peak was 85,508 MW on Aug. 10, 2023.

On Friday, ERCOT said the system was running usually with enough supply available to fulfill expected demand all week.

The increased demand has actually pressed costs higher with day-ahead power for one hour on Sunday evening rising to $1,518 per MWh, from $42.19 per MWh for the exact same hour on Saturday.

Power demand broke the daily record for the month of May on May 20, when it struck an initial 72,261 megawatts (MW), which topped the previous record for the month of May, 71,645 MW set in 2022.

High temperatures in Houston, Texas's biggest city, will reach 93 degrees Fahrenheit (34 degrees Celsius) on Sunday and increase to 99 F (37 C) on Memorial Day, according to AccuWeather meteorologists. The regular high in Houston at this time of year is 88 F (31 C).

One megawatt can generally power about 800 homes on a typical day however as few as 250 on a hot summer day in Texas.