Texas wind farms are producing lowest output of summer during the hottest days?

Fuel Fix:

Unexpected power outages and reduced wind levels sent wholesale electricity prices in Houston soaring for the second day this week to $9,000 per megawatt hour Thursday afternoon -- the highest price allowed in Texas -- as the state's grid manager called for conservation as the state moves dangerously close to rolling blackouts.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas issued an appeal to the public to reduce consumption for the second day this week as electricity reserves fell Thursday afternoon below 2,300 megawatts. The problem is more dire than it was earlier in the week when prices also reached $9,000 a megawatt hour and stayed there for more than an hour.

Texas isn't getting as much wind as ERCOT predicted, said Trent Crow, founder of the website Real Simple Energy that helps consumers choose low-priced electricity plans. The lower-than-expected levels of wind, consequently, is having an out-sized effect on prices, he said.

Texas is also grappling with about 5,200 megawatts of unexpected outages, said Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations for ERCOT. ERCOT would not say which generators were off-line but said it reflects generation units that have running at capacity all week to keep up with the heavy demand for power as temperatures hit triple-digits.

Residential and business customers were asked to reduce their electricity usage by bumping air conditioning thermostats up at least two degrees and waiting until after sunset to run appliances like dishwashers, clothes dryers and pool pumps.
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One of the problems with alternative energy is that it is unreliable and cannot scale up or down to meet demand.