Is the Texas power grid ready for this week's winter storm?
FORT WORTH, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Transmission towers and power lines lead to a substation after a snow storm on February 16, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather and power outages to Texas as storms have swept ac
As North Texas prepares for a round of winter weather this week, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas isn't predicting a repeat of 2021.
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What We Know: A winter storm is forecast to come through North Texas on Thursday, bringing with it a wintry mix of snow, rain and sleet.
A winter storm watch is in effect until Friday morning.
According to ERCOT, the state's power grid is better prepared to handle freezing temperatures and a higher power demand.
The agency's power supply and demand graph shows a six-day forecast of demand and availability.
The graph forecasts the highest energy usage on Wednesday and Thursday nights, projecting a demand of 64,000 mega Watts on Wednesday and 66,000 on Thursday night.
ERCOT projects nearly a 20,000 megawatt surplus over the estimated demand.
ERCOT's 6-day forecast projects the highest power demands on Wednesday and Thursday nights.
ERCOT issued a weather watch until Friday.
A weather watch gives advance notice of significant weather that results in a higher electrical demand.
How does the 2025 forecast compare to 2021?
While winter storms can result in flashbacks to 2021's deadly winter storm, there is one major difference in the forecast this year.
Current forecasts in DFW show highs climbing above freezing.
Texas winter weather patterns look similar to 2021, ERCOT meteorologist says
The Energy Reliability Council of Texas' chief meteorologist predicts a warmer than average winter but expects a period of extreme cold could be possible.
In the February 2021 storm, Dallas-Forth Worth spent 129 consecutive hours below freezing and more than 72 hours below 20 degrees.
The storm resulted in 246 deaths and left millions without power for days after a failure of the state's power grid.
Federal energy regulators blamed frozen equipment at power plants and natural gas facilities for storage.
Since then, ERCOT has implemented policies that they say are aimed at preventing similar failures.
Some of those tools include weatherization of power equipment, bringing more generation online earlier if needed and purchasing more reserve power, according to the agency’s statement.
ERCOT said more than 10,000 megawatts of production have been added to the grid over the past year.
Will the power grid fail?
By the Numbers: Will we see outages because of grid failures during this storm?
The short answer is not likely.
Around 5 p.m. Tuesday, ERCOT estimated a demand of almost 58,000 megawatts with a grid capacity of just over 82,000 megawatts.
ERCOT's grid condition estimate shows the grid operating in a weather watch condition with more than 11,000 megawatts in reserve. A weather watch condition means the grid is operative normally with balanced supply and demand, but the reserves are dropping.
ERCOT has three levels of advisories before it moves into emergency operations.
It goes:
- Weather Watch
- Voluntary Conservation Notice
- Conservation Appeal
- Energy Emergency Level 1
- Energy Emergency Level 2
- Energy Emergency Level 3
ERCOT estimates one megawatt is enough to provide service to 250 residential customers during peak hours.
Where can I find the latest information on the grid, the storm and closings?
- How Dallas is preparing for winter weather later this week
- When will schools close? DFW school districts monitoring weather forecast
- Monitor the latest forecast from Fox 4, here. And download the Fox 4 Weather App for your devices.
- Monitor the ERCOT grid from their website or by signing up for alerts.