Another freeze is expected in Houston. Will the Texas grid be fine again?

From Houston Chronicle.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the state’s power grid operator, is expected to pass its second test of the winter early next week, when another arctic front is anticipated to bring frigid temperatures to much of the state.

As of Thursday morning, ERCOT’s public forecast, which only spans six days out, showed ample power supply to meet demand through the end of Wednesday, even as Texans are anticipated to use more electricity to heat their homes and businesses.

So far, weather forecasts anticipate Tuesday to be next week’s coldest day, according to Houston Chronicle newsroom meteorologist Justin Ballard. On that day, the narrowest gap between power supply and demand is expected to be approximately 12,000 megawatts around sunrise, according to ERCOT’s dashboard as of Thursday. That’s magnitudes above ERCOT’s 2,500-megawatt threshold for triggering a grid emergency.

“ERCOT is monitoring the cold weather approaching Texas and will keep Texans informed on grid conditions through our various communication channels. Grid conditions are expected to be normal,” ERCOT spokesperson Trudi Webster wrote in a Wednesday email.

Last week, ERCOT issued a weather watch, a notice that it would closely monitor weather conditions because there was potential for lower power reserves. Though a few inches of snow fell in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the grid operator had plenty of electricity available to meet demand and didn’t have to initiate a grid emergency nor any outages.

ERCOT’s primary responsibility is to ensure the supply of power matches demand at all times. If demand were to come too close to supply, equipment across the grid network could be damaged, which could in a worst-case scenario lead to a total grid failure and outages for weeks or even months.