Texans use 60,279 MW of power

Austin, Augut 23, 2005 – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) region set a new electricity usage record of 60,279 megawatts (MW) of power today, over the peak hour from 4 to 5 p.m., exceeding the previous all-time peak of 60,095 MW, set on August 7, 2003.

“Temperatures around 100 degrees throughout a large part of the state caused increased electricity usage and created a record-breaking peak load,” said Kent Saathoff, ERCOT director of system operations. “We are still well within our generation capacity since we have approximately 70,000 MW available generation capacity in ERCOT. If the high temperatures continue this week, we could break this new record again, but we don’t anticipate any other unusual operational issues.”

Typically, summer peak loads are reached in the afternoon before 5 p.m.

The record number is based on initial calculations using data from throughout the transmission network. The number may be adjusted based on official meter data used in the market’s financial settlement process, which is completed six months after the operating day.

Peak History

1999: 54,849 MW
2000: 57,606 MW
2001: 55,201 MW
2002: 56,248 MW
2003: 60,095 MW, occurred Aug 7
2004: 58,531 MW, occurred Aug 3

To view real-time load data or view historical load data (the load history for the past several days), visit the ERCOT Web site.