Check out some of Community Impact’s recent coverage of energy and the environment below.
Low wind, high demand could trigger Texas power grid emergency in August
High temperatures, rapid population growth, and an influx of cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence companies will continue to squeeze Texas’ power grid, energy officials reported in June.
- There is a 12% chance of rotating power outages on August nights with little wind, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
- During the summer, the strain on the power grid is typically highest from 8-9 p.m., when more people are using electricity and less solar power is available.
- If wind power production is also low, ERCOT may ask Texans to reduce their energy use. The grid operator called for energy conservation 11 times last summer.
Energy leaders face continued skepticism from Texans in the three-plus years after the deadly power outages during Winter Storm Uri, the dayslong freeze in February 2021. Community Impact sat down with ERCOT leaders in May to discuss how the grid has evolved to meet the needs of Texas’ rapidly growing population and more.
- ERCOT relies partially on solar power to meet high demand during the summer, resulting in a “rapidly declining energy source” as the sun sets, CEO Pablo Vegas said.
- Power plants and transmission facilities across the state have been upgraded to ensure they can withstand extreme temperatures, said Venkat Tirupati, ERCOT’s vice president of DevOps and Grid Transformation. ERCOT did not confirm how many plants had been upgraded but said officials have inspected 2,117 “weatherized” facilities since December 2021.
Texans can expect more 100-degree days and longer wildfire seasons in the coming years, according to a recent report from the state climatologist at Texas A&M University.
- 2023 was Texas’ hottest year on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. By 2036, the year Texas turns 200, triple-digit days will likely be four times more common than they were in the 1970s and ‘80s.
- Rising temperatures and varying rainfall can cause drier conditions, leading to an increased risk of wildfires. With higher temperatures occurring earlier in the year, researchers expect the spring and summer wildfire seasons will last longer.
Over 5 million Texans live or work in areas vulnerable to flooding, according to a draft of the state’s first flood plan.
State lawmakers tasked the Texas Water Development Board with creating the plan in 2019, in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. The 267-page draft, published in early May, recommends over $54.5 billion in funding to reduce flood risks.
- Nearly 1.3 million homes and over 12 million acres of agricultural land are in flood-prone areas, the plan estimates. Each of Texas’ 254 counties has experienced at least one federally declared flood disaster.
- The plan asked the Texas Legislature to expand early warning systems for floods; create minimum building and infrastructure standards to reduce fatalities and property damage; improve low-water crossing safety; and enhance dam and levee safety programs.
CenterPoint Energy faced another day of reckoning over its response to Hurricane Beryl on July 31. Around two dozen Texas House members grilled CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells on how the utility prepared for the storm, what changes it was making and why power restoration took so long.
- “We keep hearing the same thing: we'll do better, we'll do better,” Rep. Ana Hernandez, D-Houston, told Wells. “It's an excuse. That's not enough. People want to know that this will not happen again and that we will make changes.”
- CenterPoint has proposed raising customers’ electricity bills by 2% for the next 15 years to cover the nearly $1.8 billion in recovery costs associated with the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl.
CenterPoint Energy will speed up its plans to trim trees, replace utility poles and increase communication with its customers ahead of future storms in Southeast Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 1. Abbott said he met with CenterPoint executives for over two hours Aug. 1 and ordered them to complete the bulk of their proposal by the end of the month.
- CenterPoint will clear tree branches and other vegetation from 2,000 miles of “higher risk” power lines by Aug. 31, according to the proposal. The company originally planned to complete this project by the end of the year.
- About 1,000 utility poles will be replaced by the end of August, which was also originally scheduled for the end of the year.
- Abbott also directed CenterPoint to improve its communication with Houston-area residents after Hurricane Beryl. The utility has held five community listening sessions to get customer feedback since July 17 and will hold large open houses in each of the counties it serves before Sept. 30.
