Dive Brief:

• Texas will have tight power reserves to start the summer, but four new gas-fired power plants will be coming online before the worst of the summer heat normally kicks in, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said Wednesday.
• ERCOT, which covers most of Texas, is in a better position this year than it was a year ago when the grid operator was warning of narrow reserve margins. ERCOT expects peak demand to hit 68,000 MW compared with the 2011 record of 68,305 MW.
• ERCOT expects the gas plants, totaling 2,100 MW, to be running by August.

Dive Insight:

ERCOT appears to have enough power supplies to get through the summer, although a heat wave coupled with power plant outages and down power lines could always trigger blackouts.

“While we anticipate sufficient generation for summer, conditions may become tight — potentially requiring conservation measures to protect the grid — if we see extremely high demand during the early summer, before these new units begin operating,” said Warren Lasher, ERCOT director of System Planning.