Internet Recalls Ted Cruz Mocking California As Texans Are Asked To Conserve Power As Blackouts Are Possible

The Texas Tribune reports:

Texas’ main power grid struggled to keep up with the demand for electricity Monday, prompting the operator to ask Texans to conserve power until Friday.

The conservation request comes at a time of heightened anxiety around electricity following the state’s catastrophic February power outages that left millions without power for days. Those outages that were prompted by a severe winter storm may have killed as many as 700 people.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said in a statement Monday that a significant number of power plant outages combined with expected record use of electricity due to hot weather has resulted in tight grid conditions. Approximately 11,000 megawatts of generation is offline for repairs, or enough to power 2.2 million homes on a hot summer day.

Houston’s ABC News affiliate reports:



Temperatures that are sustained at what ERCOT defines as above-normal levels or are extremely high during the summer months can create problems if power generators experience outages or low power generation.

That’s what was happening across the state Monday, ERCOT officials said, as a number of forced generation outages reduced the power supply at the same time that record electric use was expected this month with high temperatures across the state.

Much of North Texas was under a heat advisory Monday as heat index values were expected to hit up to 107 degrees.