ERCOT Expects Sufficient Generation For Upcoming Fall And Winter

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) expects to have sufficient generation available to serve forecasted peak demands in the upcoming fall and winter months, it said in releasing its final Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy (SARA) for fall and the preliminary outlook for the coming winter.

With more than 77,000 megawatts (MW) of generation available overall, ERCOT expects to be well-prepared for the anticipated peak demand of just under 50,000 MW this fall.

ERCOT noted that electric generation providers typically schedule maintenance outages during fall and spring to prepare for more extreme weather — and the corresponding higher demand for power — that occurs during winter and summer. It is typical for more than 9,000 MW to be off-line for maintenance during fall, and unplanned power plant outages could range from the typical 3,300 MW to more than 6,300 MW. Taking these factors into account, ERCOT expects reserves to range from about 3,600 MW, if peak demand is significantly higher than expected, to nearly 15,000 MW under expected conditions.

In addition to the final fall outlook, ERCOT also released the preliminary winter SARA today. Based on the results of this study, even during extreme conditions, the ERCOT Region is expected to have sufficient installed generating capacity to serve forecasted peak demands in the upcoming winter season (December 2015 – February 2016).

ERCOT Fall SARA

ERCOT Preliminary Winter SARA