3 Reasons Why Ercot Says Texans Could Be Without Power This Summer

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Grid operators with Ercot smell trouble cooking for Texans this summer and have released a brief outline that includes a few scenarios that could result in the loss of power for millions of people across the state as the temps begin to go up.

Apparently, it's all in the hands of the weather gods. People who bet on the weather throughout history are usually disappointed. As experts look at the summer months ahead, several have said we may be ok if we have a 'normal' summer. Kind of unsettling news as it's been over a year since anything was 'normal' in America.

Ercot Summer Outlook to be Released This Week

Ercot is set to Release its summer outlook later this week but has already mentioned 3 reasons why Texans may be in the dark during the hot summer months ahead according to an analysis shared by KHOU.com. 

1) If this summer is hot and dry like last summer, the grid will fall behind. Just this scenario could leave over 700,000 homes without power.

2) If solar power sources in Texas are not able to keep up with the demand for power this will further worsen the summer scenario from 700,000 homes to 1.5 million homes left in the dark.

3) The final scenario depends on power generated by wind sources being able to keep up with demand. Combined with peak demand and low solar power, the loss of power provided by wind-generated sources could result in up to over 2.5 million homes without power.

Despite the Report, Ercot Remains Optimistic

Even though their preliminary analysis points out these three scenarios as a threat to residents throughout the state the report says that grid operators expect there will be enough power generated by the system as is to meet the demands of the summer.

Stay Prepared This Summer

They used to laugh at the preppers who bought everything they would ever need to survive a crisis and now it looks like many people are not at all prepared in terms of supplies. If the grid does fall behind this summer, the downside is that Texas is very limited on what it can do. There are limited options to connect to other grids elsewhere in America. Texas can not call on its neighbors for help.

If the power went out tomorrow do you have a supply of bottled water? Do you have a way to preserve food, even if it is a large cooler? Maybe a second one to fill with ice? We could go on and on. Don't rely on the weather gods this summer to be normal or otherwise, get out and make sure you have some supplies.