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The Texas electrical grid remains vulnerable to extreme weather despite safeguards instituted after the deadly 2021 deep freeze that brought widespread power outages, the Dallas Federal Reserve said Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The Dallas Fed called for better enforcement of Texas’ new standards for weatherizing its grid, more incentives to boost thermal power generation and the state’s “enhanced demand-response” programs, which can include paying large power customers to curtail electricity use during peak demand.
The state’s grid, operated primarily by ERCOT and overseen by the Public Utility Commision of Texas, avoided rolling blackouts during severe cold weather last month, but the storm sent some warning signals about work that was still needed, as power plants and natural gas facilities failed, placing the electrical system at risk as demand surged to 73K MW, not far off the winter record high set during the 2021 freeze, according to Dallas Fed economist Garrett Golding.
Natural gas production fell by ~25% during the December winter storm as wells froze in, even though temperatures were ~10 degrees warmer than February 2021, Golding said.
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