High Demand Expected for Another Hotter Than Normal Summer

AI generated summary

The ERCOT Board Meeting preview highlights the expectation of another hotter-than-normal summer, with climate change significantly impacting energy demand. The ERCOT meteorologist noted that three of the hottest summers on record occurred in 2022, 2023, and 2024, with predictions for 2025 to follow suit. This trend is expected to drive demand to new heights, with ERCOT forecasting a peak of 87.5 gigawatts this summer, surpassing the previous record of 85.5 gigawatts.

In addition to rising temperatures, the generator interconnection queue remains robust, with over 400 gigawatts of supply requests, primarily from solar and storage resources. The large load queue has also surged to over 156,000 megawatts, reflecting a 150% increase compared to six months ago. Furthermore, ERCOT staff is recommending the Board approve Phase 3 of the Aggregated Distributed Energy Resource (ADER) Pilot, which aims to enhance grid reliability and lower costs by allowing greater participation of demand-side resources.