News Release

February 03, 2011

Grid condition improving but conservation still urged - 6:35 am

Winter record expected this morning; consumers asked to reduce energy consumption 6-9 am

 Morning peak demand is projected to be more than 56,800 MW.  Although immediate concerns for the possibility of rotating outages this morning are reduced, ERCOT will be monitoring the grid closely because additional unexpected major losses of generation could force operators to begin emergency procedures to avoid an uncontrolled statewide blackout. 

The grid continues to have about 3,000 MW of generation out of service due to the effects of the extreme cold. 

Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of electrical service initiated by each utility when ERCOT’s reserve power supplies are exhausted.  Utilities/ transmission providers determine the location/scheduling of the rotating outages.   

Rotating outages are the last step in a progressive series of emergency procedures that ERCOT follows according to market rules.  We only call for controlled rotating outages as a final fail-safe measure to avoid an uncontrolled blackout across the state.   

Additional updates will be distributed to the News Bulletins list and posted on the ERCOT website when we have new information. 

BACKGROUND 

Conservation Tips

See "Powerful Advice," Public Utility Commission of Texas:

http://www.puc.state.tx.us/agency/conserve/Constips.aspx 

ERCOT REGION 

The ERCOT Region includes Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Abilene and the Rio Grande Valley.  It does not include the El Paso area, the Texas Panhandle, Northeast Texas (Longview, Marshall and Texarkana), and Southeast Texas (Beaumont, Port Arthur, and the Woodlands).  Region map: http://www.ercot.com/news/mediakit/maps/index.html 

HELPFUL CONTACTS 

For Utility Information

Check your electric bill to identify your utility company or transmission provider. 

Investor-Owned Utilities (Transmission & Distribution)

American Electric Power <http://www.aeptexas.com/>            877-373-4858

CenterPoint Energy <http://www.centerpointenergy.com>                   800-752-8036

Oncor <http://www.oncorgroup.com/>                                       888-313-4747

Sharyland Utilities <http://www.su-power.com/>                      956-668-9551

Texas-New Mexico Power <http://www.tnpe.com>          888-866-7456

Community-Owned Electric Utilities

Texas Public Power Association, http://www.tppa.com/ 

Utility Directories
http://www.puc.state.tx.us/industry/electric/directories/Default.aspx 

ERCOT Market Participants
http://www.ercot.com/mktparticipants/index.html 

The Public Utility Commission
http://puc.state.tx.us/ 

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to more than 25 million Texas customers -- representing about 90 percent of the state’s electric load. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and 650+ generation units. It also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for nearly 8 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. Its members include consumers, cooperatives, generators, power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities, transmission and distribution providers and municipally owned electric utilities.

Contact

media@ercot.com

512-275-7432