Conserving energy during a heat wave is 'always a fine balance' with resources, demand

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - As this heat wave continues, ERCOT asked all Texans to conserve energy when usage is the highest on Monday, between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.   

"I love it," Dallas resident Benny Tovar said. "I think it's great. We don't need rolling blackouts. We just don't need that."  

ERCOT officials said that right now, they don't expect rolling blackouts or systemwide outages but the demand for energy is threatening to outpace supply. 

"It's always a fine balance, how much additional resources you have in the system," energy expert Dr. Wei-Jen Lee said. 

The UT Arlington Electrical Engineering Professer said the lack of wind is not helping. 

"In Texas we have almost 30 gigawatts of wind generation installation and if you look at ERCOT's prediction today, they have less than three gigawatts," he said. 

So what can you do to help? The main thing is turn up your thermostat.

"The thing to remember is every degree of cooling below 78 degrees, that can increase your energy use by 6% to 8%," Reliant Energy's Wayne Morrison said. 

You can also:

• Seal any cracks or holes near your doors 
• Close the blinds and drapes
• Avoid using appliances between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Those with electric vehicles are also being asked to conserve. 

"This afternoon I tried to start the car and it said we're in a power emergency and not to charge between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.," Tesla driver Dave Abel said. 

Lee says depending on the charging speed of at-home chargers, you could use as much energy as one hair dryer up to what it takes to power a whole house. 

Some electric utility companies are crediting their customers for saving the grid. CoServ said this helps keep their costs down which will be passed on to customers in the future.