Texas power demand to hit 2021 highs this week during heat wave

Aug 10 (Reuters) - The Texas power grid operator on Tuesday forecast demand this week would reach its highest in 2021 as homes and businesses crank up air conditioners to escape another heat wave.

The United States has been beset by several extreme weather events this year, including a freeze in Texas that knocked out power to millions in February and record heat in the Pacific Northwest this summer. Extreme heat waves that once happened every 50 years are now happening every decade due to climate change. read more

High temperatures in Dallas will reach the upper 90s Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) every day from Aug. 8-14, according to AccuWeather forecasts. The city's normal high is 97 F at this time of year.

CPS Energy, San Antonio's municipal utility, did not urge energy conservation but reminded customers to use power wisely during Tuesday's heat.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates most of the state's grid, projected power use would rise to 73,542 MW on Tuesday and 74,034 MW on Wednesday.

Those peaks, which are lower than ERCOT forecast earlier Tuesday due to slightly cooler forecasts, would top this year's current high of 72,856 MW on July 26. The grid's all-time high was 74,820 MW in August 2019. read more

One megawatt can power around 200 homes on a hot summer day.

Extreme weather reminds Texans of the February freeze that left millions without power, water and heat for days during a deadly storm as ERCOT scrambled to prevent a grid collapse after an unusually large amount of generation shut.

Despite the heat, on-peak power at the ERCOT North hub , which includes Dallas, traded at just $40 per megawatt hour (MWh) for Tuesday.

That was well below the $197/MWh average seen so far in 2021 due primarily to price spikes over $8,000 during the February freeze, and compares with 2020's $26 average and a five-year (2016-2020) average of $33.

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