Austin (1080 KRLD)- The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) says it expects record-breaking demand for electric power that could mean tight reserve supply margins.
According to an official news release; "there will be enough generation to meet the summer 2021 peak demand of 77,144 MW. Based on this forecast, the ERCOT region will have a 15.7% reserve margin this summer season."
ERCOT says it's checking high-risk situations to prevent a recurrence of the February cold wave's catastrophic grid collapse that left more than 100 dead. Many died of hypothermia or carbon monoxide poisoning.
ERCOT’s Vice President of Grid Planning and Operations Woody Rickerson stated that the checking of these high-risk situations; "reflect ERCOT’s commitment to improve transparency and visibility into the market and the factors that affect reliability, even when there is a very remote possibility of these events happening."
ERCOT also says it plans to inspect summer weatherization at selected power plants.