ERCOT Just Hit 91,308 MW. My AC Did Not Care. But My Bill Will.
I was sitting in my Austin bungalow at 4:55 PM on July 22 when the grid operator announced it. A new all-time peak demand record. 91,308 megawatts. The old record, 85,508 MW from August 2023, was obliterated by nearly 6,000 MW. That is the equivalent of several large power plants worth of output. All because Texas was 104°F and every air conditioner in the state was screaming.
My fiancée looked at me. "Does that mean a blackout?" I said no. ERCOT had more than 10 GW of reserves. The grid held. But here is what I knew that she did not: my July bill was going to hurt. Not because I used more electricity. Well, I did. But because the structure of Texas electricity means that record demand days cost more than just the kilowatt-hours.
I pulled up my smart meter data. On July 22, I used 87 kWh. On a normal July day last year, I used 62 kWh. That is a 40% increase. At my current rate of 13 cents per kWh, that day alone cost $11.31. But here is the kicker. I am on a fixed-rate plan. Many Texans are not. If you are on a variable-rate plan or a wholesale-indexed plan, your rate can spike with demand. I have seen bills where a single day of extreme heat added $40 to the monthly total. Not because the math is wrong. Because the math is right and the market is brutal.
I checked my friend Mark's bill. He lives in a 1,800 sq ft house in Round Rock. He is on a bill-credit plan. His rate is advertised at 7.4 cents per kWh. But the bill credit only kicks in if he uses exactly 1,000 kWh. In July, he used 1,847 kWh. The credit did not apply. His effective rate was 18.6 cents per kWh. His bill was $343. He called me screaming. I told him to read the Electricity Facts Label. He said he did not know what that was. I said, "That is the problem."
Here is what I did to protect myself. First, I verified my plan type. Fixed rate. No bill credits. No tiered pricing. Second, I pre-cooled my house. At 2 PM, when rates are lower, I set the thermostat to 72°F. By 4 PM, the house was a thermal battery. I let the temperature drift to 78°F during peak hours. My AC ran less when the grid was stressed and rates were highest. Third, I ran the dishwasher and dryer after 9 PM. Time-of-use rates reward this behavior. Even if you are on a flat rate, shifting load helps the grid. And helping the grid means fewer infrastructure costs passed to you later.
The 91,308 MW record is not a one-time thing. ERCOT expects peak demand to hit 367,790 MW by 2032. Data centers are driving a lot of that growth. The heat is driving the rest. Your bill is going to reflect this new reality whether you like it or not. The only question is whether you understand your plan well enough to minimize the damage.
I am not saying switch to solar. Though I have solar, and my panels produced 34.2 kWh on July 22. I am saying understand your rate structure. Read the EFL. Know if you are on a fixed, variable, or indexed plan. Pre-cool your house. Shift your load. And maybe give your AC a break during peak hours. It has earned it. So has your wallet.
Ryan Mitchell, Austin
