By Tim Stelloh and Amy Calvin - NBC News
Texas power grid officials are pleading with residents this week to limit their use of electricity due to high temperatures and a host of mechanical problems at power plants.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) petition comes four months
after a series of deadly blackouts during a winter storm left millions of people without power,
and weeks after state lawmakers approved a package. of measures aimed at solving some of the energy problems exposed by that storm.
More than 40 people died during the February storm, many of them from cold exposure or carbon monoxide poisoning while trying to keep warm.
Six members of the ERCOT board resigned in the following days.
The CEO was fired in March.
Officials at the nonprofit group, which oversees 90% of Texas energy production,
asked residents Monday to turn up the temperature on their thermostats,
turn off the lights and avoid using
powerful
appliances
until Friday.
[Bills up to $ 10,000: How Texas Electric Companies Are Profiting from the Historic Winter Storm]
Some areas of the state, including
Dallas and Tarrant
counties
, received warnings about poor air quality and potentially dangerous temperatures,
with the heat approaching
110 degrees Fahrenheit.
In Houston, it also exceeded 100 degrees.
A senior ERCOT official, Warren Lasher, said
it was unclear why there have been so many unplanned outages.
But he said the group is "deeply concerned" about the plants being taken offline and that extensive research is underway to better understand the issues.
["I Lost All My Savings": Texas Residents Tell the Nightmare of Receiving Thousands of Dollars in Electricity Bills After the Storm]
Blackouts and water shortages: West Coast braces for severe heat wave
June 13, 202101: 41
Several lawmakers this month sought to strengthen the state's power grid, which is not subject to federal oversight, through measures that will force companies to winterize parts of the grid deemed critical.
But experts told public radio (NPR) that the measures are not enough.
One critic told the network that it was an "exaggeration" to call the new fines of $ 5,000 per day for companies that do not comply with the rules as "a rounding error."
