Climate Changed
Get Ready, Power Generators: Summer in Texas Is Your ‘Superbowl’
- U.S. energy regulator says summer will be ‘test’ for the grid
- Coal plants are retiring, wiping out supplies on Texas system
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Get ready for summer in Texas, power producers. According to one federal energy regulator, it’s going to be your time to shine.
Coal-fired power plants are shuttering, wiping out generating capacity on Texas’s power grid. And yet electricity use has kept rising, with the state’s power system operator projecting that demand will reach an all-time high as people blast their air conditioners to keep cool this summer. That’s setting the stage for spikes in wholesale power prices -- and hefty generator profits -- as the market works to attract enough supply to meet demand.