HOUSTON — The Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Wednesday announced a new way to notify Texans about the state's power grid conditions ahead of potentially record energy demand this summer.
ERCOT said the Texas Advisory and Notifications System (TXANS) will be able to send advance notice by email three to five days before the power grid is expected to see higher demand.
"TXANS will deliver clear and reliable notifications ahead of significant weather conditions where high demand on the grid is possible,” said ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas. “Keeping Texans informed earlier adds a new level of awareness on grid conditions and any public action that may be needed.”
To receive the notifications, you need to sign up through ERCOT's website with an email address. Once you register a password with ERCOT communications and confirm it in your email, you'll still need to subscribe to the TXANS notifications list after logging in.
It's important to note that TXANS alerts do not mean emergency conditions are expected.
"Do we expect a lot of conservation notices? No, we do not," Vegas said. "What we do expect is to be able to keep people more informed, we would be using the weather watch more frequently than we would ever use a conservation notice."
You can also monitor the power grid conditions directly on ERCOT's website.
ERCOT said this notification system is not replacing its Energy Emergency Alert notices, which will continue to send emergency alerts.
Watch ERCOT's full announcement of the TXANS system: