Power demand could set a record on the ERCOT grid Tuesday, Aug. 20.

Pablo Vegas, president and CEO, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, poses for a portrait in Austin.

Public Utility Commission of Texas Commissioners Courtney Hjaltman, from rear left, Chairman Thomas Gleeson, Lori Cobos and Kathleen Jackson speak during a PUC meeting Thursday, July 25, 2024, in the Commissioners Hearing Room at the William B. Travis State Office Building in Austin.

Texans made it through a record-setting August heatwave without the state’s grid operator calling for conservation or declaring an emergency, but that doesn’t mean the grid is fixed.

Complacency is the bugaboo of complex systems, and August’s heroes are not January’s saviors. More importantly, Texas officials are asking: How much electric reliability are Texans willing to pay for?

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has delivered a record amount of solar and battery-stored energy this summer. On Aug. 20, a record-demand day, solar provided more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity, enough power for 5 million homes from about 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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During the 8 p.m. hour, as the sun went down but before the wind kicked up, utility-scale batteries provided 4,000 megawatts of electricity, ensuring ERCOT did not need to make a conservation........

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