CENTRAL, Texas — A winter cold snap is on the way to Central Texas, begging the question if the state's energy grid is prepared to keep up with demand as Texans ramp up their heaters.
Doug Lewin, president of Stoic Energy, said there is less to fear this week, compared to what the state went through during Winter Storm Uri in 2021.
Despite believing the company still struggles to effectively communicate with the public, Lewin says the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has stepped up its inspections.
"They’ve started this inspection program where they have a standard, they go out to the power plants, they look at them, they make sure they have just some basic wrapping pipes and windbreaks to make sure the northern wind isn't blowing directly on its equipment," Lewin said. "So they are doing that, and I think that is a big change. I think that puts us in a better position.
ERCOT manages the power grid covering most of the State. El Paso, part of the Texas Panhandle, and part of East Texas are connected to the federal power grid. Investigations revealed frozen equipment and low fuel supply were among the reasons why ERCOT could not meet the energy demand during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which killed more than 200 Texans and left millions without power for several days.
But, this week, and despite wind chill temperatures, temperatures are not forecasted to drop as low as they were during Winter Storm Uri. Lewin said that will help in energy demand, and makes a "massive" difference. He added that he does not believe there will be rolling blackouts.
"If it’s single digits in Dallas-Ft. Worth and it's in the teens in Houston and South Texas, there’s very little chance there wouldn’t be rolling outages in those sort of conditions. It’s just too much demand for the amount of power that we have," Lewin said. "But from what I’ve looked at yesterday and today, it’s looking like [it will be] 8 to 10 degrees warmer."
Lewin listed other reasons he believes ERCOT will effectively meet demand across the state as temperatures continue to drop this week.
"There is no to little snow associated with this system," Lewin said.
He said what made Winter Storm Uri especially bad was the snow and ice unlike Texas has ever experienced.
"We're also looking at when peak demand will hit," Lewin explained. "In 2021's winter storm, peak demand was in the middle of the night, which was really bad. This time, we're looking at peak demand to be at 9 or 10 o'clock in the morning."
Lewin said when we have conversations regarding the Texas grid, it's important to note that the state as a whole has demand to keep up with and will likely keep our power on this week. However, in localized situations, it is still possible to lose power for reasons outside of the grid's control, such as fallen tree limbs on power lines. This week, wind gusts are expected to pick up to 30 to 40 mph.
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