AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Electric utilities across the state of Texas were ordered to begin rotating outages, as residents dealt with extreme winter weather gripping the Lone Star State - and Austin Energy warns that the outages may continue for longer than expected.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, declared an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA) Level 3 just before 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Under ERCOT's plan, within one hour, utility providers across the state were to start implementing rotating outages in order to "shed load" from their systems. These outages are typically supposed to last between 10 and 40 minutes in any one particular location, before being "rotated" to another customer.
However, ERCOT has continued to suffer generation losses with the extreme winter weather hitting the state, meaning there isn't available power to re-energize the customers that have been turned off. ERCOT officials are expected to provide an update on the situation at 10:30 a.m.
“The situation continues to worsen across Texas and here in Austin,” Austin Energy General Manager Jackie Sargent said in a statement around 5:30 a.m. Monday morning. “Austin Energy implemented required outages early Monday morning, doing our part to help stabilize the ERCOT grid. The required outages are more extensive than anyone expected and do not allow us to bring affected customers back online at this time. We will continue working with ERCOT and working through our contingency plans to get power back on to customers as soon as the grid allows.”
Overnight, ERCOT officials said the load shedding had taken approximately 10,500 megawatts of consumption off the state's electric grid, which is roughly enough power to serve two million homes. Officials say more than 30,000 megawatts of electricity generation was forced offline overnight due to extreme conditions, meaning the need for rotating outages may continue for several more hours.
"Every grid operator and every electric company is fighting to restore power right now," ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in a statement.
Consumers and businesses are urged to continue to reduce their electricity use to the lowest level possible, including these steps:
• Keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower, if possible. Wear warm, comfortable clothing to help stay warm indoors instead of adjusting the thermostat.
• Keep doors and windows closed to minimize hot air from escaping the home.
• Close shades and blinds to reduce heat leaving home.
• Switch the setting on ceiling fans to run clockwise at a low speed. This gentle updraft helps push warm air near the ceiling down into your living space.
• Unplug nonessential electronics as they still draw current.
• Avoid using large appliances like dryers during peak morning and evening hours.
• When not in use, make sure your fireplace damper is closed to prevent heat from escaping up the chimney.
• If you have central air and heat, do not close vents in unused rooms. This could increase pressure and cause duct leaks.