While Texas officials are concerned about future electric grid reliability in the state, experts are urging utilities and other power providers to increase demand response resources as a means of negating such concerns.
Lawmakers in Texas recently met to address concerns from the state's power industry. Some utilities are worried that they will not be able to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) new rule mandating that coal-fire power plants be either decommissioned or upgraded. The air quality regulation is aimed at cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions, but critics have called it draconian.
Still, electric grid experts and environmental advocates noted there are a number of ways that Texas utilities could more effectively prepare for a potential drop in electricity generation. The Environmental Defense Fund reports that many are recommending that utilities increase demand response systems as a mean of contending with surging electricity consumption rates.
Through such a setup, power providers contract with companies such as North American Power Partners (NAPP), who then forge relationships with large-scale energy users. They usually orchestrate such deals with businesses, but a growing number of programs also incorporate residential utility customers as well. When electricity consumption rates soar, companies that participate in such programs agree to curtail their own energy demand, which frees up available resources in the electric grid.
Officials in Texas asserted that demand response systems have become an increasingly important component in ensuring electric grid reliability. Such smart grid initiatives also benefit the companies that participate in them, as many generate a new revenue source – even when they are not asked to reduce electricity consumption rates.
Still, Texas is lagging behind other regions in the U.S. with its demand response system, according to the news provider. Experts affirmed that if the state were to invest heavily and focus on improving the program, it could help address many of the electric grid reliability issues currently affecting it.
Officials from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which monitors the state's electric grid, asserted demand response currently represents only 2 percent of peak demand, underscoring how the state could significantly benefit from investing in such energy efficiency and grid-balancing programs. Instead of building new power plants, a number of experts affirmed, Texas should instead invest in smart grid and energy efficiency initiatives.
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