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Released February 16, 2021 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) (Austin, Texas) said it was beginning to restore some of the power power lost due to the cold weather blast, even as CenterPoint Energy Incorporated (NYSE:CNP) (Houston, Texas) had reported an increase in power outages Monday evening in the Houston area.
ERCOT said Monday afternoon that approximately 2,500 megawatts (MW) of load was in the process of being restored -- enough power to serve 500,000 households.
"ERCOT and Texas electric companies have been able to restore service to hundreds of thousands of households today, but we know there are many people who are still waiting," said ERCOT President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Magness in a press release. "It's also important to remember that severe weather, mainly frigid temperatures, is expected to continue, so we're not out of the woods."
"At this time, the grid operator is instructing transmission owners to shed approximately 14,000 MW of load, down from 16,500 MW earlier today," the company said.
However, CenterPoint Energy reported an increase in power outages Monday night, leaving another 185,500 Houston-area customers without electricity, according to the Houston Chronicle. CenterPoint officials said about 1.41 million customers lacked power as of 8 p.m. Monday, according to the Chronicle.
"ERCOT is experiencing Arctic-like conditions that is causing system-wide havoc to the grid," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Demand is through the roof and there's just not enough supply to handle the load."
The supply has been stretched thin in part due to a lack of wind generation that is usually a strong source of power generation in the region, with the extreme weather "freezing" the wind turbines, Burt continued.
"Couple that situation with unplanned generation outages at traditional base load facilities like Decker Creek Power Station and South Texas Project Nuclear Generating Station, to name a few, the ERCOT grid has been in a precarious spot," Burt said.
"These traditional generators just don't handle these extreme conditions as well as their counterparts above the Mason-Dixon line, which results in unplanned outages. In typical Texas summers, when demand is skyrocketing, the surplus demand is serviced by 'peaking' units. The Texas peaking fleet does not handle the Arctic conditions nearly as well as the summer peak."
Burt commented, "Rolling blackouts are not a viable option under such extreme conditions and at this point, grid operators are trying to not make matters worse while they await some of the 'lost' generation to come back online."
Earlier on Monday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told television station KHOU-TV, "I don't classify these as rolling blackouts -- it's just system failure." Industrial Info is tracking refinery and chemical plant outages related to the cold snap.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation (Houston) shut down at least two units on the East side of its 165,000-barrel-per-day Corpus Christi Refining Complex on Monday, due to weather conditions. Citgo also shut down two units on the West side of the complex.
Motiva Enterprises LLC (Houston) suspended operations of the 1,560 million-pound-per-year ethylene unit at its Port Arthur Aromatics and Olefins facility as a result of difficulty in producing enough steam to safely operate due to the extreme cold. It is expected the unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise.
In response to the Arctic blast, President Joe Biden granted a federal emergency declaration for the state, allowing U.S. agencies to coordinate disaster relief.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
ERCOT said Monday afternoon that approximately 2,500 megawatts (MW) of load was in the process of being restored -- enough power to serve 500,000 households.
"ERCOT and Texas electric companies have been able to restore service to hundreds of thousands of households today, but we know there are many people who are still waiting," said ERCOT President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Magness in a press release. "It's also important to remember that severe weather, mainly frigid temperatures, is expected to continue, so we're not out of the woods."
"At this time, the grid operator is instructing transmission owners to shed approximately 14,000 MW of load, down from 16,500 MW earlier today," the company said.
However, CenterPoint Energy reported an increase in power outages Monday night, leaving another 185,500 Houston-area customers without electricity, according to the Houston Chronicle. CenterPoint officials said about 1.41 million customers lacked power as of 8 p.m. Monday, according to the Chronicle.
"ERCOT is experiencing Arctic-like conditions that is causing system-wide havoc to the grid," said Britt Burt, Industrial Info's vice president of research for the Global Power Industry. "Demand is through the roof and there's just not enough supply to handle the load."
The supply has been stretched thin in part due to a lack of wind generation that is usually a strong source of power generation in the region, with the extreme weather "freezing" the wind turbines, Burt continued.
"Couple that situation with unplanned generation outages at traditional base load facilities like Decker Creek Power Station and South Texas Project Nuclear Generating Station, to name a few, the ERCOT grid has been in a precarious spot," Burt said.
"These traditional generators just don't handle these extreme conditions as well as their counterparts above the Mason-Dixon line, which results in unplanned outages. In typical Texas summers, when demand is skyrocketing, the surplus demand is serviced by 'peaking' units. The Texas peaking fleet does not handle the Arctic conditions nearly as well as the summer peak."
Burt commented, "Rolling blackouts are not a viable option under such extreme conditions and at this point, grid operators are trying to not make matters worse while they await some of the 'lost' generation to come back online."
Earlier on Monday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner told television station KHOU-TV, "I don't classify these as rolling blackouts -- it's just system failure." Industrial Info is tracking refinery and chemical plant outages related to the cold snap.
In Corpus Christi, Texas, CITGO Petroleum Corporation (Houston) shut down at least two units on the East side of its 165,000-barrel-per-day Corpus Christi Refining Complex on Monday, due to weather conditions. Citgo also shut down two units on the West side of the complex.
Motiva Enterprises LLC (Houston) suspended operations of the 1,560 million-pound-per-year ethylene unit at its Port Arthur Aromatics and Olefins facility as a result of difficulty in producing enough steam to safely operate due to the extreme cold. It is expected the unit could return to normal operations later in the week as temperatures rise.
In response to the Arctic blast, President Joe Biden granted a federal emergency declaration for the state, allowing U.S. agencies to coordinate disaster relief.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
