Representatives from the Greenville Electric Utility System, of GEUS, say they expect more record electricity use in the city this summer. They also say that could be bad for the power grid. The Herald Banner reported that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, warned GEUS about a potential 55 hundred megawatt falloff in generated energy throughout Texas this year. That’s in part due to high demand taxing the energy grid and the closure of some of the state’s utility plants that proved no longer economically sustainable.
While GEUS provides most of its own power, the utility does buy some of its energy from the ERCOT grid. ERCOT provides power to about 90 percent of the state.
GEUS general manager Alicia Price told the Banner that the utility is braced for potential rolling brownouts this summer. But GEUS is also asking residents to cut power use as much as possible to avoid taxing the grid.
