Ercot

Ercot's forecasts are based on an average of the past 10 summers, but the past two years have been unusually hot, pushing up energy use for air conditioning.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

"July was the hottest month ever in Texas, and August is shaping up to be the same," said Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning for Ercot.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

Now, about all regulators can do is revise market rules at Ercot, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which runs a daily energy auction.

Supply Pinch in Texas Tests Electricity Rules Rebecca Smith 2011

Last week, demand was so high across Texas that some large energy users had power disruptions, and Ercot narrowly avoided instituting rolling blackouts.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

As recently as June, Ercot said that it didn't expect to break any records this summer, and that it saw summer peak demand remaining manageable until 2014, when it thought supplies could run thin in the fast-growing state.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

That's getting close to the Ercot's maximum supply of about 72,000 megawatts, and some units are usually down for repairs.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

"Trip" Doggett, chief executive of Ercot, the organization responsible for keeping the lights on in Texas, says the EPA rule "boosts the risk of outages" because it could result in generating-plant shutdowns.

Supply Pinch in Texas Tests Electricity Rules Rebecca Smith 2011

The average price of power in the Ercot was $40 a megawatt hour last year, down from $86 in 2008 and up slightly from the $35 fetched in 2009.

Supply Pinch in Texas Tests Electricity Rules Rebecca Smith 2011

In the 75% of Texas that is part of Ercot's deregulated power market, regulators can't order utilities to build more generating plants; they have to wait for power generators to build new plants voluntarily.

Texas Power Grid Falls Short Rebecca Smith 2011

At the same time, FERC declined to wave its authority over transmission connections the facility would have with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or Ercot.

Power Grid Connection Wins First Approval Mark Peters 2010