Summer swelter
Texas charges up as No. 2 state most at risk for summer power outages
Texas led the list of states with the most hours of summertime power outages.
Warning: Houston could be in for an especially uncomfortable summer. A new study puts Texas at No. 2 among the states most at risk for power outages this summer. Michigan tops the list.
Solar energy company Wolf River Electric analyzed the number of large-scale outages that left more than 5,000 utility customers, including homes, stores and schools, without summertime electricity from 2019 to 2023. During that period, Texas experienced 7,164 summertime power outages.
Despite Michigan being hit with more summertime outages, Texas led the list of states with the most hours of summertime power outages — an annual average of 35,440. That works out to 1,477 days.
“This means power cuts in Texas tend to last longer, making summer especially tough for residents and businesses,” the study says.
This news comes on the heels of another study that said Houston is among nine major U.S. cities that now experience at least 50 more days per year with above-normal summer temperatures than they did in 1970. The average summer temperature in Houston rose by 4.6 degrees from 1970 to 2024, according to Climate Central.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the electric grid serving 90 percent of the state, predicts its system will set a monthly record for peak demand this August — 85,759 megawatts. That would exceed the current record of 85,508 megawatts, dating back to August 2023.
In 2025, natural gas will account for 37.7 percent of ERCOT’s summertime power-generating capacity, followed by wind (22.9 percent) and solar (19 percent), according to an ERCOT fact sheet.
This year, ERCOT expects four months to surpass peak demand of 80,000 megawatts:
- June 2025 — 82,243 megawatts
- July 2025 — 84,103 megawatts
- August 2025 — 85,759 megawatts
- September 2025 — 80,773 megawatts
One megawatt is enough power to serve about 250 residential customers amid peak demand, according to ERCOT. Using that figure, the projected peak of 85,759 megawatts in August would supply enough power to serve more than 21.4 million residential customers in Texas.
Data centers, artificial intelligence, and population growth are driving up power demand in Texas, straining the ERCOT grid. In January, ERCOT laid out a nearly $33 billion plan to boost power transmission capabilities in its service area.
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This story originally appeared on our sister site, EnergyCapitalHTX.
