Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.

====================================

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...85O10G20120625

Texas grid sets June power record, urges conservation

HOUSTON | Mon Jun 25, 2012 7:09pm EDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Texas power use peaked on Monday afternoon at a
higher level than in any previous June even as the state urged consumers
to limit appliance use to avoid straining power plants, as much of the
state broiled under triple-digit temperatures.

Power demand reached 65,047 megawatts in the hour between 4 p.m. and 5
p.m. CDT (2200 GMT), surpassing the June record of 63,102 MW set last
year, according to preliminary grid data.

Real-time power prices briefly exceeded $100 per megawatt-hour Monday
afternoon and next-day power prices in the state traded between $165 and
$175 per megawatt-hour, down several dollars from Monday's trades.

The extreme heat hit Sunday when the mercury hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit
(38 Celsius) in Houston, San Antonio and Dallas, the three biggest
cities in the Lone Star State, prompting residents to crank up air
conditioners. Triple-digit highs are forecast for several more days this
week, with some high enough to set records, AccuWeather.com forecast.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the grid operator for
most of Texas, said in a release it was looking closely at anticipated
electric use and available generation.

ERCOT said demand may top 66,000 MW on Tuesday. The state's all-time
peak use of 68,379 MW was set in August of last summer during a
protracted heat wave and drought.

The grid agency said adequate generation resources should be available
to serve that load without activating emergency programs that could lead
to curtailment of power to certain industrial customers or broader
rolling outages.

The grid operator said its plan for the week takes into account current
power-plant outages and the possibility of losing additional resources.

One megawatt is enough to serve about 200 Texas homes during hot weather
when air conditioners run for extended periods.

The grid agency has projected that power use will peak at 67,492 MW this
summer, about 1,300 MW above what would be expected in a normal weather
scenario.

ERCOT warned that rolling outages could occur this summer given the
state's limited amount of surplus generation.

An extended heat wave and drought last summer forced ERCOT to declare
emergencies on six days and curtail power to interruptible customers on
two days in August to avoid widespread rolling outages.

The state's shrinking reserve margin has led regulators to implement a
number of wholesale market changes to encourage construction of new
power plants over the long-term.

Several idled power plants have been returned to service to bolster the
summer supply after a new coal-fired plant expected to be operational
was delayed.

NRG Energy (NRG.N), the state's second-largest power company, has more
generation available this summer than last, after restarting a half
dozen older, natural gas-fired units totaling 1,100 MW that were
previously in mothball status.

"We have invested significant capital to get our units ready during
spring outages," said Mauricio Gutierrez, NRG's chief operating officer.

Luminant, the state's largest generator, said its power plants have
undergone preventative maintenance, inspections and testing to be
available when called on this summer.

"We take our role of powering Texas very seriously and as such, we began
preparing for the hot Texas summer months ago," said a Luminant
spokeswoman.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

On 6/26/2012 7:47 AM, Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.

There are very limited-capacity inter-ties and all the surrounding areas
are also under the same high pressure and seeing the same or even higher
temperatures as are they so there's not much excess capacity to send
that way even if had the interconnections. You're on your own... :)

....

Several idled power plants have been returned to service to bolster the
summer supply after a new coal-fired plant expected to be operational
....

And just wait and see what's going to happen if the SCOTUS lets the
proposed new EPA limits go and Congress doesn't act to curtail the
incessant racheting w/ the intent to completely eliminate coal as a
viable generation source. :(

--

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

Sounds like the perfect situation for solar power.

The sun come out, it gets hot air conditioners come on, at the same time the
power is most available.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

On 06/26/12 12:12 pm, Bob F wrote:

Sounds like the perfect situation for solar power.

The sun come out, it gets hot air conditioners come on, at the same time the
power is most available.

As a supplementary source.

Perce

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

On 6/26/2012 11:43 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/26/12 12:12 pm, Bob F wrote:

Sounds like the perfect situation for solar power.

The sun come out, it gets hot air conditioners come on, at the same
time the
power is most available.

As a supplementary source.

All power sources are supplementary to one degree or another. All of
them have periods of being offline for scheduled maintenance and
unscheduled repairs, and time delays with bringing them online and up
to full power, meaning none of them ever run consistently at 100%.
Adding more sources just gives grid managers a little more
flexibility, as well as possibly reducing overall demand somewhat.
Though I'm a bit dubious of that last one. Demand typically expands to
meet the available supply. Energy saving devices make it more
affordable for households to run more devices, which eventually
cancels out a good bit of the anticipated energy savings.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

In article , dpb wrote:

On 6/26/2012 7:47 AM, Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.

There are very limited-capacity inter-ties and all the surrounding areas
are also under the same high pressure and seeing the same or even higher
temperatures as are they so there's not much excess capacity to send
that way even if had the interconnections. You're on your own... :)

...

as I recall, so many of the posters here are proud that not only does Texas have
no real inter-ties but that do to the better business climate there, they are
superior to those tree huggers in California that consume far less electricity
than the entire state of Texas. LOL



Several idled power plants have been returned to service to bolster the
summer supply after a new coal-fired plant expected to be operational
...

And just wait and see what's going to happen if the SCOTUS lets the
proposed new EPA limits go and Congress doesn't act to curtail the
incessant racheting w/ the intent to completely eliminate coal as a
viable generation source. :(

--

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.


In simple words, Texas is not connected to the other two power grids.

In reality, it's a bit more involved. There is one area in north Texas that
gets power from Oklahoma and one small bit in east Texas that gets power
from Louisiana. In addition, there are some power-sharing agreements with
Mexico.

In the main, however, one can say that the Texas power grid stands alone and
not be too far off the mark.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.


In simple words, Texas is not connected to the other two power grids.

In reality, it's a bit more involved. There is one area in north Texas
that gets power from Oklahoma and one small bit in east Texas that gets
power from Louisiana. In addition, there are some power-sharing agreements
with Mexico.

In the main, however, one can say that the Texas power grid stands alone
and not be too far off the mark.


The ONLY place where the power grids stand COMPLETELY alone are Newfoundland
and Quebec
The first because they're too far from land to be connected
The second because they produce far, far, more than they consume
One of their Hydro Project, covers the area of New York State.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

On Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:00:05 -0500, "Atila Iskander"
wrote:


"HeyBub" wrote in message
om...
Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state as
an alternative to rolling blackouts.


In simple words, Texas is not connected to the other two power grids.

In reality, it's a bit more involved. There is one area in north Texas
that gets power from Oklahoma and one small bit in east Texas that gets
power from Louisiana. In addition, there are some power-sharing agreements
with Mexico.

In the main, however, one can say that the Texas power grid stands alone
and not be too far off the mark.


The ONLY place where the power grids stand COMPLETELY alone are Newfoundland
and Quebec
The first because they're too far from land to be connected
The second because they produce far, far, more than they consume
One of their Hydro Project, covers the area of New York State.

....and there are no people to use it.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

Atila Iskander wrote:
"HeyBub" wrote in message
m...
Home Guy wrote:
No mention of buying / importing electricity from outside the state
as an alternative to rolling blackouts.


In simple words, Texas is not connected to the other two power grids.

In reality, it's a bit more involved. There is one area in north
Texas that gets power from Oklahoma and one small bit in east Texas
that gets power from Louisiana. In addition, there are some
power-sharing agreements with Mexico.

In the main, however, one can say that the Texas power grid stands
alone and not be too far off the mark.


The ONLY place where the power grids stand COMPLETELY alone are
Newfoundland and Quebec
The first because they're too far from land to be connected
The second because they produce far, far, more than they consume
One of their Hydro Project, covers the area of New York State.

Well, there's Hawaii. And Alaska.

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

Hell Toupee wrote in :

On 6/26/2012 11:43 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/26/12 12:12 pm, Bob F wrote:

Sounds like the perfect situation for solar power.

The sun come out, it gets hot air conditioners come on, at the same
time the
power is most available.

As a supplementary source.

All power sources are supplementary to one degree or another. All of
them have periods of being offline for scheduled maintenance and
unscheduled repairs, and time delays with bringing them online and up
to full power, meaning none of them ever run consistently at 100%.
Adding more sources just gives grid managers a little more
flexibility, as well as possibly reducing overall demand somewhat.
Though I'm a bit dubious of that last one. Demand typically expands to
meet the available supply. Energy saving devices make it more
affordable for households to run more devices, which eventually
cancels out a good bit of the anticipated energy savings.


solar power is not cost-effective. it costs much more than other energy
sources. it takes up too much land area,and is not reliable.
I doubt there's a solar plant anywhere in the US that produces its expected
power levels. IOW,if you install "20 MW of solar",you only get a few MW.
Better to build nuclear power plants and/or natural gas fired generators.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
localnet
dot com

Texas electric grid sets June power record, urges conservation
 

Jim Yanik wrote:
Hell Toupee wrote in
:

On 6/26/2012 11:43 AM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 06/26/12 12:12 pm, Bob F wrote:

Sounds like the perfect situation for solar power.

The sun come out, it gets hot air conditioners come on, at the same
time the
power is most available.

As a supplementary source.

All power sources are supplementary to one degree or another. All of
them have periods of being offline for scheduled maintenance and
unscheduled repairs, and time delays with bringing them online and up
to full power, meaning none of them ever run consistently at 100%.
Adding more sources just gives grid managers a little more
flexibility, as well as possibly reducing overall demand somewhat.
Though I'm a bit dubious of that last one. Demand typically expands
to meet the available supply. Energy saving devices make it more
affordable for households to run more devices, which eventually
cancels out a good bit of the anticipated energy savings.


solar power is not cost-effective. it costs much more than other
energy sources. it takes up too much land area,and is not reliable.
I doubt there's a solar plant anywhere in the US that produces its
expected power levels. IOW,if you install "20 MW of solar",you only
get a few MW. Better to build nuclear power plants and/or natural gas
fired generators.

It is getting more cost effective every day.

IT takes up no land area if it's on your roof.

Panels $.87 watt or less?
http://www.sunelec.com/