{"id":6885,"date":"2012-03-01T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T22:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/?p=6885"},"modified":"2012-03-02T21:22:51","modified_gmt":"2012-03-03T03:22:51","slug":"why-another-hot-summer-may-bring-blackouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/texas\/2012\/03\/01\/why-another-hot-summer-may-bring-blackouts\/","title":{"rendered":"ERCOT: Another Hot Summer May Bring Blackouts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Mose Buchele for StateImpact Texas<\/p>

Kent Saathoff works on grid planning and operations for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.<\/p><\/div>\n

Remember last year\u2019s threats of rolling blackouts? This year might not be any better.<\/p>\n

In a new report<\/a> the Electric Reliability Council of Texas<\/a>, or ERCOT, predicts another summer of above-average heat. That will put strain on an electrical grid that hasn\u2019t added much more power generation. And that means Texans can expect another summer of close calls.<\/p>\n

Kent Saathoff\u2019s manages the grid for ERCOT<\/a>. He says Texas could squeak by without blackouts if conservation efforts are effective. But the state should expect energy emergency declarations in order to spur conservation, and that might be a best case scenario.<\/p>\n

“If we have another summer like last summer, which was an all-time hottest summer we had, or if we have a significant number of generator outages, which are higher than normal, then we could be into a situation of rolling outages,” Saathoff said in a telephone press conference today.<\/p>\n

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