Dive Brief:

• The governor of Texas is calling for residents to reduce their energy usage, especially during peak afternoon hours, as the state continues to struggle with a heat wave that is placing record demand on the state electric grid.
• The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has seen new demand records set four times within the last 10 days, though the grid has managed to keep up with skyrocketing cooling load.
• Abbott said in a statement that several generating units had been forced offline due to the extreme conditions, putting additional stress on the state's resources.

Dive Insight:

Though temperatures have pulled back from earlier highs, Texas continues to suffer from a prolonged heatwave. Temperatures in Houston on Thursday afternoon were in the mid-90s, with heat indexes in the triple digits. That's unlikely to change until the weekend, according to Weather Underground's forecast, leading the state's governor to call on residents to turn down thermostats.

“I encourage all Texans to implement responsible energy practices,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. “In order to mitigate stress on our state’s electricity grid, Texans should take simple measures to save as much energy as possible.”

The statement from the Governor brings demand response into the mainstream conversation. Crucially, Abbott did so without calling it "demand response," an industry term that would all too likely fly over the heads of most residents. 

Among the governor's tips for Texas residents: set pool pumps to run in the early morning or evenings; close blinds and drapes to reduce direct sunlight; and turn off unnecessary equipment and lights.

The statement also noted that "several generation units have been forced out of service due to the persistent weather and high demands," adding stress to the grid.

Texas' grid operator has seen a series of new demand records set in recent days, including two in consecutive hours last week. On Aug. 12, ERCOT's hourly demand topped 69,000 MW for the first time ever. Before this heatwave, Texas' demand records were last cracked in 2011.

Demand records set in the last five years include:

69,408 MW -- Aug. 10, 2015
68,912 MW -- Aug. 6, 2015
68,538 MW -- Aug. 6, 2015
68,459 MW -- Aug. 5, 2015
68,305 MW -- Aug. 3, 2011
67,929 MW -- Aug. 2, 2011
66,841 MW -- Aug. 1, 2011
65,776 MW -- Aug. 23, 2010