Austin Energy Prepared for Another Hot Texas Summer
June 6, 2024
With triple-digit heat or heat indexes in the forecast, Austin Energy’s power generation and transmission facilities have completed their weatherization readiness activities in preparation for the summer season. Austin Energy certified its summer weather preparedness to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) in compliance with state regulations. The utility completes and maintains annual summer and winter season emergency preparation measures for its generation units and transmission substations.
Austin Energy’s summer preparations are complete as the state’s grid operator readies for what will likely be another record-breaking season regarding energy demand. Last summer, Texas reached 10 new all-time peak demand records.
Some of the preparations Austin Energy staff have completed include:
- Setting up cooling systems for power plant equipment to prevent overheating.
- Hiring a utility supply chain manager to coordinate timely deliveries of fuel supplies.
- Conducting thorough maintenance and calibration checks on all power generation equipment to ensure reliability during peak demand periods.
- Promoting the utility’s Power Partner Thermostats program, a demand response program that gives bill credits to residential customers for allowing the utility to adjust their thermostats on a handful of high energy use days.
Austin Energy encourages customers to save energy and money. Here are some summer conservation tips:
- Raise your thermostat by a few degrees in the summer. Set your thermostat even higher when you are away for two hours or more on a hot day for the biggest energy savings.
- Point fans in your direction to make temperatures around you feel about 4 degrees cooler. In the summer, switch ceiling fans to run counterclockwise to push cool air downward. Only keep fans on when you are in the room.
- Clean your AC condenser/evaporator coils. Clean coils lower your energy costs, extend the unit’s life, and provide cleaner air for you to breathe.
- Keep debris and high grass away from the condenser. These obstacles block airflow, which makes the condenser work harder and run longer.
- Close shades and curtains on windows hit by direct sunlight to prevent heat from getting indoors.
- Avoid turning on the oven or doing laundry during the hottest time of the day. Using the microwave produces less heat.