The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it expects it will be able to meet electrical demand over the weekend even as Saturday morning’s annular solar eclipse is poised to dampen solar power generation.
Weather officials and astronomers expect a rare annular eclipse to pass over portions of southern and central Texas.
Such an eclipse is exceptionally rare in Texas, with only four occurrences of its kind and two total eclipses visible in the state since 1851, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Weather experts said this weekend’s eclipse will unfold under optimal viewing conditions, with clear skies and cool fall-like temperatures. In the metroplex, the moon is expected to obscure 81% of the sun, while cities in the path of the annular eclipse, such as San Antonio, will see 90% of the sun obscured.
With the moon set to block the sunlight for a period of time, experts with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) spoke out about the potential impact on the state’s energy grid.
ERCOT said it expects the eclipse to impact ERCOT’s PhotoVoltaic Generation Resources between 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m., according to a public notice.
Officials explained in a presentation in August that they expect the greatest effect on solar power energy will occur at 11:50 a.m. when solar resources are expected to drop to 13%, reported The Dallas Morning News.
Despite the anticipated impact, ERCOT expects the grid to hold and meet demand throughout the eclipse.
“ERCOT has planned for this forecasted reduced generation and expects grid conditions to be normal,” wrote ERCOT in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Alison Silverstein, an electric system reliability consultant and researcher, told DMN that thermal power will be able to make up for any shortfalls in solar energy production.
“They’ve known about and planned for the eclipse for months in advance, so there’s been plenty of time to get thermal plant and transmission maintenance scheduled and completed to avoid forced [unexpected] outages,” said Silverstein, per the DMN.
This is not the first time this year that a natural event has caused problems for grid production and stability. In September, ERCOT declared emergency conditions due to high temperatures that put a strain on the grid, as reported by The Dallas Express.