ERCOT breaks peak demand record third time (Update)

NewsRelease

August 03 2011

Record power use expected again Thursday; Conservation needed 3-7 p.m.

Austin, Aug.3, 2011 -- For the third consecutive day, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), system operator for the state’s bulk transmission grid, set a new electricity demand record -- 68,305* megawatts (MW) today between 4 and 5 p.m.

"We are expecting another record-high electricity demand tomorrow, so we are continuing our call for conservation between 3-7 p.m.," said Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning and operations. "We do want to thank consumers and businesses who reduced their electricity consumption today following initiation of a level 1 emergency alert," Saathoff said.

The level 1 emergency was declared at 2:50 pm today; operators cancelled the emergency procedures at 6:10 p.m.

The new peak demand exceeds yesterday’s new record demand by 365 MW and last year’s record of 65,776 MW (Aug. 23, 2010) by 2,603 MW. One megawatt of power is enough electricity to power about 200 homes in Texas during hot weather when air conditioners are running for long periods of time.

Wind generation contributed approximately 2,000 MW during the peak hour.

The peak demand for Thursday is expected to be more than 68,200 MW.

For more information:

Press Releases
Energy Emergency Alert Communications

ERCOT Peak Demand History, 2000 -- 2011

YEAR	DAY OF WEEK	DATE	PEAK DEMAND, MW	CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS YEAR
2011	Wed	8/3/2011	68,305*	3.84%*
2010	Mon	8/23/2010	65,776	6.02%
2009	Mon	7/13/2009	63,400	3.73%
2008	Mon	8/4/2008	62,171	0.07%
2007	Mon	8/13/2007	62,130	-0.34%
2006	Thu	8/17/2006	62,339	3.53%
2005	Tue	8/23/2005	60,214	2.92%
2004	Tue	8/3/2004	58,506	-2.55%
2003	Thu	8/7/2003	60,037	7.04%
2002	Mon	8/26/2002	56,086	2.53%
2001	Wed	8/15/2001	54,729	-4.99%
2000	Thurs	8/31/2000	57,606	5.03%

*UPDATE Oct. 17, 2012: ERCOT's system peak set on Aug. 3, 2011, remained an all-time record through summer 2012. The data has been updated to record more accurately the ?load served within the ERCOT region through DC ties. The revised formula changed the peak demand of Aug. 3, 2011, from 68,379 MW to 68,305 MW, which was still an all-time ERCOT record.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 23 million Texas customers -- representing 85 percent of the state's electric load. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 40,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 6.7 million premises in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipal-owned electric utilities.

Contact
Robbie Searcy	512-225-7213
rsearcy@ercot.com