The power grid operator for the state of Texas, Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), has issued its second Conservation Appeal in a week, asking Texas residents and businesses to voluntarily conserve electricity from 2 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13.

ERCOT issued its first appeal for Monday, July 11, and Texas residents and businesses responded by voluntarily conserving electricity and reducing their energy use by 500 megawatts. 

According to ERCOT, more than four dozen similar appeals have been requested by the agency over the last 14 years. This notification is issued when projected reserves may fall below 2300 megawatts for 30 minutes or more.

While widespread outages are not expected by ERCOT at this time, the City of Round Rock has a plan in place should a large-scale system outage occur. The City’s Community Risk Reduction team, including the Crisis Response Unit, are also working alongside community partners and collecting donations of new, boxed fans at fire stations to ensure Round Rock’s most vulnerable populations are cared for as historically high temperatures persist across the state. Residents living in Round Rock who are in need of a donated fan can contact crr@roundrocktexas.gov or call 512-318-1337.

The Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) Power to Save website provides conservation tips and ways to reduce electricity use during peak times, including turning up your thermostat a degree or two, if comfortable, and postponing running major appliances or pool pumps during afternoon peak hours.