Dive Brief:

• Texas should have sufficient electricity supplies this winter and in the spring, the state's grid operator said Friday. “Although we expect fewer resources and slightly higher demand than our preliminary forecast indicated, we expect to be in good shape for the winter ahead,” said Warren Lasher, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’s (ERCOT) director of system planning.
• Peak demand is projected to remain below 50,000 megawatts this winter because of mild weather, with 74,000 megawatts available according to ERCOT's report on winter resource adequacy.
• A preliminary outlook for spring power supplies also anticipates ample supply, with no more than 57,000 MW of demand and 73,000 MW of capacity available.

Dive Insight: 

ERCOT cautioned that colder-than-expected winter weather, coupled with simultaneous plant outages, could require it to take steps to trim system demand. A similar caution was issued for the spring forecast, with ERCOT noting that many generators take plans off-line for maintenance in advance of the summer cooling season.