TEXAS ON THE BRINK OF ROLLING BLACKOUTS

 Texas declared its first power emergency since a deadly winter storm two years ago and came close to rolling blackouts as soaring temperatures roasted the second-largest US state.

High demand, lower wind generation, and the declining solar generation during sunset led to lower operating reserves on the grid and eventually contributed to lower frequency,” the grid operator’s CEO said.

The declaration of a so-called Level 2 emergency late Wednesday came in response to shrinking supplies of available power and meant the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s grid operator, had to draw on reserves while pushing consumers to curb usage.

Texas hadn’t experienced a grid emergency since February 2021, when a historic freeze triggered blackouts that led to hundreds of deaths, stranded millions inside freezing homes, and paralyzed the Lone Star State for almost a week.

Conditions deteriorated so quickly on Wednesday that the grid operator skipped calling emergency level 1. A level 2 emergency means power reserves have dropped to critical levels and allows the operator to call on more supplies to prop up the grid. It’s unclear what led to ERCOT call a second-tier emergency.

As the crisis deepened late Wednesday, utilities in San Antonio and the state capital Austin warned blackouts might be imminent and urged customers to take conservation efforts such as not charging electric cars and turning off pool filters. Medically fragile residents who need oxygen and similar aids were urged to have backup plans in place.

Spot power prices surged to more than the $5,000 a megawatt-hour, exceeding the price cap, multiple times Wednesday evening, Ercot data show. That was quadruple the cost of power supplies for that period in the day-ahead market.

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