Energy consumption in June struck a level nearly 1 percent higher than consumption recorded during June last year
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Electricity consumption and renewable energy are up this summer — those are two take-away findings from a presentation this week by Bill Magness, president and chief executive officer of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the organization that manages the state’s primary electric power grid.
ERCOT CEO Bill Magness
Speaking to the ERCOT board Tuesday via teleconference, Magness reported that energy consumption in June was nearly 1 percent higher than consumption during June last year. Energy use also was 3.6 percent higher from July 1-15, as compared to the same dates last year, according to Magness.
Other highlights of the CEO’s report:
- Texans set a new peak electricity demand record for the month of July by consuming 73,962 megawatts of power between 4 and 5 p.m. on July 13. A megawatt is approximately enough electricity to serve 200 households during a hot summer day.
- Power consumption in ERCOT’s West Zone reached 2,301 MW on July 13, exceeding the prior summer peak there by 9 percent.
- Wind and solar generators struck new output records in June and July, with an instantaneous wind record set on June 28 of 21,375 MW and an instantaneous solar record on July 3 of 3,746 MW.
- Since summer 2019, ERCOT has approved an additional 3,159 MW of solar and wind for commercial operations.
To find out more about ERCOT, see the report found here.