Texas power supplies seen as tight but improvingMay 1 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Jim Fuquay Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The state's largest power grid says electricity supplies could be tight during the hottest days this summer but also said its longer-term outlook is improving. In its final summer forecast, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which serves about 85 percent of the state's demand, said it could initiate calls for conservation on the hottest days. "We are expecting above-normal temperatures throughout summer in most areas," said Kent Saathoff, an ERCOT executive adviser. ERCOT said it expects peak power demand of 68,383 megawatts, just above the record of 68,305. A megawatt is 1 million watts, or enough to power about 200 Texas homes on the hottest afternoons, when air conditioners are blasting. Power generation available to meet that demand is estimated at 74,438 megawatts, which includes 925 megawatts of new capacity from a McLennan County coal-fired facility and 700 megawatts in new wind power capacity. The state's drought isn't expected to create problems that can result if cooling water for power plants is restricted. Longer term, ERCOT's summer 2014 outlook calls for a reserve margin of 13.8 percent, right at the minimum target of 13.75 percent. The reserve margin is the excess of estimated capacity over estimated peak demand. The new estimate is up from ERCOT's estimate of 10.9 percent, made in December. The outlook was boosted by additions of more than 1,500 megawatts of gas-fired, solar and wind capacity expected to come on line by next summer, plus the earlier startup of two gas-fired plants previously announced by Panda Power. Jim Fuquay, 817-390-7552 Twitter: @jimfuquay http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=28446697 |