Heat wave triggers maintenance warning in California, sets new demand record in Texas

Dive Brief:

A heat wave that has stretched across the United States since last week spiked electricity demand in Texas, set records in Portland and caused the California grid operator to warn generators against maintenance that might result in systems coming offline.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas set a new July peak demand record, based on preliminary data, reaching 69,525 MW on July 28. It was the fifth time demand spiked above last year's July record in Texas, according to Platts.
And on the West Coast, the California ISO was forced to restrict maintenance on generation or transmission, to ensure resources were available.

Dive Insight:

The heat wave that closed out July is still persisting in the Pacific Northwest. The Oregonian reports Portland temperatures soared to 103 degrees yesterday, and the Bonneville Power Administration warned it may break summer power demand records.

Bonneville's previous peak demand record was 7,861 MW; the e xcessive heat has spiked demand about 600 MW above average. The grid operator for most of Texas set a handful of peak demand records, while in California the ISO urged market players to keep resources online.

The California ISO notice on maintenance restrictions was in place for much of Tuesday and Wednesday this week. The type of notice "requires transmission and generator operators to postpone planned routine maintenance outages until further notice," according to the grid operator. "This ensures that all available grid assets are available for use to manage grid reliability during challenging grid conditions."

While much of the extreme heat has dissipated, the Northwest is still under a heat advisory. Temperatures in Portland are expected to be above 100 degrees again today, and in the 90s for the remainder of the week.