Texas grid faces winter after failed attempt to get more power online

After saying there was an “unacceptable” risk of a power grid emergency during a strong winter storm, the Texas grid operator's plan to prepare the state better for extreme winter weather failed to take off this fall.

In early October, officials at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the state’s main power grid, announced that they wanted more power plants available to run this winter. They explained that demand for electricity had grown overall, and past extreme winter storms showed how high demand could spike during frigid temperatures.

ERCOT’s plan to entice companies to make more power available involved asking if they were willing to bring some shuttered gas- and coal-fired power plants back online — and, if so, what it would cost ERCOT.

As it happened, not a single company thought reviving an old power plant made sense, and the Nov. 6 deadline passed without a single proposal to revive a power source for the winter.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/01/texas-power-grid-ERCOT-winter-2023/