ERCOT Warns Texas of Blackouts This January

Brace yourselves, Texas! ERCOT issues a warning that could leave the Lone Star State in the dark.

In Texas, there's a chance that the power grid might have some problems this winter, according to this article. The people who take care of the power grid, called ERCOT, are saying that if things go really bad, there might be times when some areas won't have electricity, and they call it rolling blackouts

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ERCOT asked companies that own older power plants to start them up again before winter. They wanted to make sure we have enough electricity when it's really cold. But, unfortunately, not many companies did what ERCOT asked.

Not near enough

In October, ERCOT asked for more power to be available during the coldest times in winter. They wanted 3,000 extra megawatts, which is a unit for measuring electricity. However, they only got 11 megawatts, which is much less than they needed.

Morning chill

If they had gotten all that extra electricity, it would have made it less likely to have problems with the power. Now, ERCOT says there's a higher chance, about 17%, that some areas might have no electricity for a short time in January, especially between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. But after 9 a.m., the chances drop to about 5%.

Not just Texas

ERCOT isn't the only group worried about electricity in cold weather. Another report said that more than half of the United States might not have enough electricity during very cold times this winter.

Ridiculously ambitious

An expert from Texas, Ed Hirs, thinks ERCOT's plan was too hopeful. He says the plan was not good because the people who own the old power plants didn't want to start them up again before winter. He said it was a little plan that came too late, and it wasn't a good idea to think they could fix everything quickly.

Hir's Said "Just simply throwing some money out and hoping that people could bring a coal-fired power plant back out to operational capability within a period of weeks was really, ridiculously, ambitious."