On Aug. 20, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a voluntary conservation notice, requesting that consumers reduce their use of electricity if safely able. The notice came amid a stretch of high temperatures, high demand for electricity, and a drop off in thermal electric generation. 

"ERCOT has issued a Voluntary Conservation Notice for 7 – 10 p.m. today, Aug. 20, due to extreme temperatures, continued high demand, & unexpected loss of thermal generation," according to an Aug. 20 Twitter post. "Texans are asked to voluntarily reduce electric use, if safe to do so. ERCOT is not currently in emergency operations."

According to ERCOT's Texas Advisory and Notification System (TXANS), a voluntary conservation notice is issued when the grid is experiencing elevated demand with a reduced energy supply. It is the final stage in monitoring the condition of the grid before ERCOT takes action to meet demand.

A few days before the announcement, the Dallas Morning News reported comments from ERCOT's CEO, Pablo Vegas, about the reliability of the grid. Vegas voiced his concern over the Lone Star State's increasing reliance on intermittent generators, such as wind and solar. In the report, Vegas said that the combined performance of intermittent generators required to meet demand "keeps him up at night".

The Dallas Morning News reported that Vegas said Texans "have to have a balanced, reliable, always available generation to serve them no matter what the weather.”

Bill Peacock, the policy director for the Energy Alliance, points to renewable generation as the main cause of the reliability problems facing Texas today. In research published by the Energy Alliance, he said "the foundation for the reduction of reliability in ERCOT is the politicization of the Texas electricity market—particularly the push for renewable energy—and the resulting collapse of competition in the market."

In other research, Peacock explains that the reliability issues caused by renewables in Texas did not spring up suddenly. He writes, "Texas’s problem with wind and solar generation has been growing for years. In 2022, wind farms generated 25% of the electricity used in ERCOT. Solar farms generated 5.65%. Ten years earlier, wind’s market share was 12.25% and solar’s 0.03%. This has placed a great strain on the grid because neither of these generation sources can be counted on when needed."

Texas is not the only part of the country facing concerns over grid reliability this summer. Earlier this month, Federal Newswire reported that the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) was concerned that "several U.S. regions face risks of electricity supply shortfalls this summer during periods of more extreme conditions because of high demand forecasts and low wind and solar energy conditions."

The Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is the grid operator for about 90% of Texas' electric load. ERCOT serves more than 26 million customers in the Lone Star State.