COVID-19 Cuts Texas Summer Electric Demand by 1,500 Megawatts

SUGAR LAND--May 18, 2020--Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The COVID-19 pandemic will knock about 1,500 megawatts (MW) off peak electric demand in Texas this summer, which is expected to boost summer reserve margins to about 12.6%, two percentage points higher than a preliminary estimate made earlier this year, Pete Warnken, manager of resource adequacy for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) (Austin, Texas), said on a virtual press conference May 13.