Texas Faces Power Price Surge of 20,000% in Severe Heatwave
Texas power prices saw a surge of 20,000% last week, driven by another intense heatwave that triggered an emergency alert from the state’s grid operator.
Spot electricity prices reached over $5,000 per megawatt-hour by 8:20 p.m. local time on Wednesday, marking a staggering increase of more than 200 times compared to earlier in the day.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) initially issued an “Energy Emergency Alert 2” during the evening but later reported a return to normal conditions. Nonetheless, this event marked the first instance of ERCOT issuing its second-highest alert since the 2021 deep freeze crisis.
High power prices persisted into the following day, with rates exceeding $4,000 per megawatt-hour for over an hour on Thursday evening. ERCOT requested that the Biden administration declare a power emergency in Texas, temporarily waiving certain air pollution regulations to facilitate increased electricity production.
Forecasters predicted temperatures exceeding 90 degrees in major cities like Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio for the upcoming Friday. Texas, along with other regions in the Northern Hemisphere, has been grappling with severe heatwaves this summer.
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