At 7:08 p.m. on February 9, 2013, a record was set for wind generation on the ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) power grid as it peaked at 9,481 megawats. One megawatt of power is equal to one million watts. That is enough power to light 20,000 50 watt light bulbs. 9,481 megawatts is enough electricity to power 189,620,000 light bulbs (50 watt). What caused this record setting number to be reached? A weekend cold front “blew” through the state, cranking thousands of wind generators and setting the new record. As more wind generators and transmission lines go up in Texas, more records will be set.

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Renewable energy is energy that comes from non-fuel-consumption sources such as wind, sun, rain, tides, geothermal, etc. Since fuel is not burned to produce this energy, it is much more environmentally friendly. The “grid” is the vast network of cables that take electricity from the generators to the consumer. There are many different types of generators that supply power to the grid, from traditional methods such as burning coal or natural gas, to the various renewable sources.

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Some energy companies make both traditional and renewable sources available to their customers, with renewable sources tending to cost a little more that the traditional. But how does a customer who pays for the renewable know where the electricity is actually coming from that shows up at the wall plug, since traditional and renewable generators dump their power into the same grid?

Enter the “Renewable Energy Certificate.”

An REC is the right to claim the use of 1 megawatt of electricity that was produced by a renewable energy source. For instance: say you have a grid with three different source generators, coal, natural gas, and wind. Together they dump 1000 megawatts of power into the grid, but only 245 of those megawatts are supplied by the wind source. This means there are 245 REC’s available for purchase. A company that buys 100 of them will have the right to claim that they have obtained this 100 megawatts from a renewable source. That company can either use the REC’s  by burning the power that they represent, or sell the REC’s to someone else. REC’s are carefully monitored and verified so that the same REC cannot be sold to and claimed by more than one entity. Upon purchase of an REC, a buyer receives a number attached to that REC which follows consecutive owners and is retired when the megawatt is claimed (used). According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “[T]he information conveyed by an REC allows buyers to make specific environmental claims about how their electricity is produced.”

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ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) announced the breaking of its June peak demand record this week. On Monday (June 23rd) its all-time June peak demand record was broken with a usage of 65,047 megawatts. According to ERCOT, a megawatt is the amount of energy needed to power about 200 homes during peak usage. The record was broken again on Tuesday when peak demand reached 66,583 megawatts. This also exceeds the standing July record for ERCOT. ERCOT’s all-time peak demand record was set during last year’s drought when usage reached 68,379 megawatts on Aug. 3rd, 2011.

Or, you can get Great Electric Rates and run AC.”

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To help avoid the possible need for rolling blackouts this summer, energy officials recommend that electricity users:

• turn their thermostats up a few degrees in late afternoon when energy demands upon the state’s grid are highest
• turn thermostats up in the morning before leaving the house for the day
• run pool pumps in early morning or late at night
• avoid using large appliances during peak hours

In addition to publishing information through news media, Facebook, and Twitter, ERCOT is employing the use of Apple and Android devices to help keep energy users informed of usage conditions and energy reduction alerts. For more information and full story, click here. By knowing when demands on the grid are highest, citizens can reduce usage at critical times to help avoid emergencies on the grid. Folks can also go to http://lists.ercot.com and subscribe to the Emergency Alerts list.

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For conservation tips from the Public Utility Commission of Texas CLICK HERE

The following recommendation from Killeen Utilities Online contains a summary of a March 1, 2012 news release from ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas):

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It might be a good idea for folks to anticipate conserving electricity this summer. ERCOT expects a possible shortage of the state’s capacity to keep up with power demands this summer. Last summer, due to the extreme drought, ERCOT set the all time record for peak demand.

The Climate Prediction Center is declaring a 40% chance of hotter than normal weather this summer, though not necessarily as bad as last year. The recent rains have brought reservoir levels up, lessening the danger of water levels falling low enough to interfere with electric power plant operation.

Though the need for rotating outages may become possible, officials say it probably won’t happen unless demands go above what is currently projected. Current projections are for a higher than normal peak demand. This particular level would probably not necessitate rotating outages. Electric providers should be OK, but if demand goes higher than these projections, these outages could be required. Rotating outages are an extreme measure initiated to protect the grid from a complete blackout.

Officials are attempting to increase voluntary reduction of peak demand for the hottest parts of the summer in order to stay off the need for rotating outages. Cooperation is solicited from some large commercial entities, but residential power consumers can help significantly by taking measures to conserve energy themselves.

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Ambit Energy offers the following energy saving tips:

http://www.mlmrankings.com/ambit%20energy/news.htm#News2

Yesterday, I went down and talked to Jeanine Sandifer and her son David Machardy at the shop on the southeast corner of Gray St. and Avenue C. Jeanine and her family have owned the place since 1946 and they know a lot of Killeen history first hand. They’re friendly folks and make enjoyable conversation. Jeanine’s daughter Kelly painted the mural facing Avenue C on the north side of the building.

Jeanine and her son David in front of Jeanine's shop