Texas Heat Wave Tests State Power Grid

By

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page
US News Reporter
Trust Project Icon Newsweek Is A Trust Project Member

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

A dangerous heat wave expected to hit Texas by the end of the working week will lead to a record power usage, according to the state's power-grid operator. The heat wave will likely put the infrastructure under significant pressure.

Temperatures have already reached the triple digits in San Antonio, Del Rio, and Laredo on Wednesday. They will rise over 100 degrees Fahrenheit by Thursday in Houston, according to weather forecasts.

The Weather Forecast's meteorologist Ari Sarsalari said temperatures will feel even hotter than reported from Thursday to Saturday because of the moisture levels in the air due to a wetter spring than usual. "When it's that hot and you've got the moisture along with it, that really becomes dangerous heat," Sarsalari added.

The heat wave is the first to hit Texas this year. 2022 brought record-breaking temperatures soaring past 100 degrees. In June last year, four miles of a roadway melted in Crockett, a city about 112 miles east of Waco, as reported by the Texas Department of Transportation.

Houston, Texas
A fan is seen in a window during a heatwave on July 21, 2022 in Houston, Texas. Excessive heat warnings have been issued across the state, with a predicted high of 102 degrees in Houston.... Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Millions of Texans will struggle through the scorching temperatures that will last for days, according to experts, and will spread to other southern and eastern states. More than 33 million people in Texas, Florida, and Louisiana are under heat advisories that are set to last through Friday night, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Next week, certain areas of south Texas could reach temperatures as high as 120 degrees, according to a NWS forecast.

This is set to lead to a surge in electricity use by Texans, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). It operates about 90 percent of the power grid, serving more than 26 million customers. The company is expecting electricity use to reach 81,683 megawatts on June 16—breaking the previous record of 80,038 megawatts set in July last year.

The capacity of Texas' power grid to handle sudden surge in demand in the middle of extreme weather events has been tested several times in the past few years, after failing spectacularly in February 2021. More than 4.5 million homes were left without power when a series of storms caused the biggest infrastructure disaster in the state's history, leading to power, water, and food shortages.

The number of Americans who have moved to Texas in recent years is also contributing to exacerbate the scale of the problem, with a bigger population increasing its demand for power to keep on their air con.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas said that the state's population has grown by 24 percent between 2008 and 2022, but the state has added only 1.5 percent in dispatchable power in the same amount of time. Dispatchable power includes all sources of electricity that can be programmed on demand at the request of power-grid operators, from coal to nuclear power.

But ERCOT has appeared positive about meeting the increased demand. On its website, the company reported that it's operating under "normal conditions"—meaning that there is enough power for the current demand. As of early Thursday, June 15, the company was operating on reserve of around 7,480 MW.

Newsweek has contacted ERCOT's media team for comment by email on Thursday.

Request Reprint & Licensing Submit Correction View Editorial & AI Guidelines

Top stories

About the writer

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property insurance market, local and national politics. She has previously extensively covered U.S. and European politics. Giulia joined Newsweek in 2022 from CGTN Europe and had previously worked at the European Central Bank. She is a graduate in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University and holds a Bachelor's degree in Politics and International Relations from Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Italy. She speaks English, Italian, and a little French and Spanish. You can get in touch with Giulia by emailing: g.carbonaro@newsweek.com.

Writers Page

Giulia Carbonaro is a Newsweek reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is on the U.S. economy, housing market, property ... Read more