The potential Texas electricity shortage and the growing popularity of off-grid electricity solutions demonstrate that the electric grid is no longer reliable.
An electrical grid operator has predicted a Texas electricity shortage this summer. In fact, utilities are forecasting record-high demand for electricity as the warmest months of the year draw closer.
Specifically, the record for statewide electricity usage in Texas is 73,473 megawatts, Reuters reports. A megawatt consists of one million watts of electricity and it can power as many as 1,000 homes under normal circumstances. Notwithstanding, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) anticipates that Texans will use 74,853 megawatts of electricity this summer. ERCOT currently operates the electrical grid in the Lone Star State.