(11 a.m., Feb. 7, 2014) – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has canceled the Conservation Alert that was in effect overnight and this morning throughout the region.

“Since the peak demand hours have passed and sufficient generation is available to serve expected power demand in the ERCOT region, we do not see a need for additional conservation measures to protect the grid at this time,” said Ken McIntyre, ERCOT vice president for Grid Planning and Operations.

Electric demand during the peak hour Thursday night was 56,673 megawatts (MW) and Friday morning was 54,156 MW, compared to the 57,277 MW preliminary winter record set the morning of Jan. 7.

“We are grateful for consumers’ support during the extreme cold that has increased the demand for power and limited generation capacity throughout the ERCOT region,” said McIntyre. “The steps consumers took to reduce demand on the power grid kept electric use below the records set earlier this year, and generation companies were able to provide sufficient generation to serve those needs.”

Transmission-related concerns in the Valley lifted

During the past day, limits to the system’s ability to import power in the Valley region also increased the possibility that controlled rotating outages may be needed to protect grid reliability Thursday night or Friday morning. That notice of possible rotating outages also is no longer in effect for now, although conditions could change.

“We are glad that rotating outages did not become necessary in the Valley last night and this morning,” McIntyre said. “We want area residents to know that there is a planned project that will increase electric transmission capacity into the area, and these improvements will help reduce these risks in the future.”

Some localized distribution outages have been reported that do not relate to systemwide concerns on the grid.

Continuing to monitor conditions

Cold weather and some freezing precipitation will continue throughout the day. ERCOT will continue monitoring system conditions closely and will notify the public if additional conservation is needed. To keep up with system conditions, consumers can view daily peak demand forecast, current load and available generation at http://www.ercot.com/ or on the ERCOT Energy Saver mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices.

Real-time notices of energy emergency alerts are available at www.ercot.com, by following @ERCOT_ISO on Twitter, liking the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Facebook, downloading the free ERCOT Energy Saver mobile app for Apple or Android devices, or by signing up for the EmergencyAlerts list on http://lists.ercot.com.

                                                        ###

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 23 million Texas customers — representing 85 percent of the state's electric load. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects about 40,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 6.7 million premises in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.