Texas Power Emergency Hinged on Stranded Wind-Farm Supplies
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Texas’ worst power crisis in more than two years was triggered when officials were forced to halt deliveries on a long-distance transmission system, stranding electricity supplies hundreds of miles from major population centers.
As record heat spurred demand for power to run air conditioners across Texas on Wednesday, a key transmission line supplying the Dallas area showed signs of an imminent overload. That prompted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to issue a so-called transmission watch alert at 6:34 pm local time, suspending some power shipments, likely from wind farms, in South Texas.