Electric Reliability Council of Texas called for voluntary conservation efforts on Tuesday in an effort to avoid entering emergency conditions that could entail blackouts, Chief Executive Officer Pablo Vegas said during a board meeting.
Households and businesses were asked to curtail power usage between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Central time. Power supplies typically tighten in the late afternoon and early evening as solar output wanes.
Electricity prices for the highest demand hours quadrupled to more than $2,500 a megawatt-hour compared with Monday. Demand is forecast to climb to 81.3 gigawatts around 5 p.m. local time, which would surpass the all-time high set during the summer of 2022.