Texas electricity regulators told the public Thursday that their electricity should likely stay on through the rest of the summer and that the state’s main power grid is in good enough shape to withstand any potential extreme weather.
With warmer weather expected as soon as next week, Peter Lake, chair of the Public Utility Commission, which oversees the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said his agency and ERCOT are working through the rest of the summer with “an abundance of caution” by calling on more reserve power when warmer weather arrives and Texans crank up their air conditioning.
Lake, speaking at a news conference alongside interim ERCOT President Brad Jones, said the approach is a departure from the way the Texas electricity market has historically operated — cheap power being the first priority and “reliability second.”
