Texans faced a weather challenge this weekend with freezing temperatures testing the resilience of the state’s independent electric grid. Many wondered if improvements had been made since Winter Storm Uri in 2021, which left millions without power and resulted in numerous fatalities.
By Monday afternoon, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid performed well, maintaining power during harsh conditions. While Winter Storm Fern was less severe than its 2021 counterpart, officials and analysts credit infrastructure improvements, additional power plants, and enhanced battery systems for increased grid resilience.
Michael Preddy, energy transmission and distribution analyst at Arup, noted that legislative weatherization requirements for power plants and transmission systems, along with ERCOT’s winter storm planning studies, have fortified power generators and utilities against the cold.
“The grid has performed admirably this time,” Preddy stated, emphasizing the effectiveness of the measures implemented post-2021. ERCOT’s planning enabled predictions of reduced capacities for renewables and gas-fired plants in icy conditions, while highlighting batteries’ critical role in the grid, which were scarce in 2021.
Ed Hirs, an energy economics lecturer at the University of Houston, cited luck as a contributing factor. The aging gas infrastructure held up, partly due to the milder storm conditions. ERCOT reported last month that energy emergencies are less likely due to expanding storage projects, enhancing early morning power availability.
Since Winter Storm Uri, ERCOT and other regulators have mandated improvements for both renewable and fossil fuel plants to operate in freezing temperatures, shifting from voluntary to compulsory compliance.
Despite these enhancements, nearly 50,000 homes and businesses were without power as of Monday, primarily due to local outages near the Louisiana border. During Winter Storm Uri, around 4.5 million were affected. As of Monday, over 26,000 megawatts of power were offline, with ERCOT reporting unexpected outages from both wind/solar and fossil fuel plants.
In response to past failures, Texas legislators created the Texas Energy Fund, a $7 billion initiative to finance new gas power plants, although no new generation has been added since its inception. Leaders remain confident in ERCOT’s ability to withstand this storm, with concerns mostly about downed power lines from ice and winds.
Last week, Public Utility Commission of Texas Chairman Thomas Gleeson highlighted historic investments by generators and transmission operators in preparing for such storms. He noted that crews are ready to address any freezing of the gas infrastructure.
ERCOT issued a weather watch on January 21 due to anticipated low temperatures and the potential for sleet, with expectations for normal grid conditions. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a disaster for over 130 counties to ensure resource availability. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced an emergency order to deploy backup generators.
Preddy remarked that the relatively uneventful weekend can be seen as a success, reinforcing the goal of reliable power supply during such events.
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org