Pedernales Electric Cooperative asked its members to reduce electric use to help avoid potential service interruptions on Monday.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) directed PEC and other electric utilities to call for members/customers to conserve electricity while the state’s electric grid was being stabilized.

Electricity demand peaked at 62,762 megawatts (MW) on Monday between 4pm and 5pm in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which was lower than the earlier forecast of more than 65,000 MW. 

“We appreciate the efforts from businesses and consumers who reduced their electricity consumption in response to our appeal for conservation,” said Kent Saathoff, vice president of grid operations and system planning.   

ERCOT entered an Energy Emergency Alert Level 1 at 3:30 pm when reserves dropped below 2,300 MW due to the unexpected loss of about 2000 MW generation and high temperatures.  The alert was cancelled at 4:55 pm but a “watch” remains in effect until reserves reach a comfortable threshold.

The electricity demand forecast for Tuesday was 64,400 MW, but the units that failed on Monday were expected to be available, in addition to other capacity that was not available at the beginning of the week.

ERCOT’s all-time electricity demand record is 65,776 MW, which occurred on August 23, 2010. Monday’s preliminary peak of 62,752 MW is a record for the month of June, surpassing the previous record of 62,278 MW, set on June 25, 2009.

One megawatt is roughly enough electricity to power 500 average homes under normal conditions in Texas, or about 200 homes during hot weather when air conditioners are running for longer periods of time.