(The Center Square) – As Texas continues to grapple with winter conditions and about 1% of Texans lost power due to icy conditions, statewide, the power, heat, lights and water are on, largely fueled by the Texas natural gas industry.
According to ERCOT, the state’s regulatory agency that manages the power grid, natural gas is keeping the power on in Texas. It’s Fuel Mix report, which breaks down energy generation by resource type, shows the majority of energy produced comes from natural gas.
At midnight Feb. 1, for example, solar and hydro accounted for 0% of energy generated. Wind generated 7%, coal and lignate accounted for 19%; nuclear, 9%. The majority of electricity generated came from natural gas: 66%.
By noon Feb. 1, the percentages had changed slightly with solar and wind accounting for 2% each and natural gas accounting for 68% of Texas’ energy source. Throughout the day, the percentages changed slightly, but natural gas remained above 65% of electricity generation; wind never reached above 8%, solar never above 3%. Coal and lignate hovered around 19%; nuclear between 8-9%.
At midnight Feb. 2, the percentages were similar with solar and hydro accounting for 0% of energy generation, wind accounting for 2.7%, coal and lignate for 20%, nuclear for 9.5% and natural gas for 68%. By 1 p.m., the percentages changed slightly with solar accounting for 7%, wind 9%, hydro zero, natural gas 57%, coal and lignate 18% and nuclear nearly 9%.
“Operators and regulators diligently prepared for the approaching weather and natural gas once again accounted for the dominant share of energy for power generation during the storm,” Ed Longanecker, President of Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association, told The Center Square. Pointing to a study showing how Texas natural gas is among the cleanest and most efficient in the world, he maintains that Texas, and the U.S., “must invest in additional infrastructure and dispatchable energy, including natural gas, for extreme weather conditions and our growing population.”
The Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the Texas oil and gas industry, also issued a statement saying Texas’ natural gas supply “continues to hold steady to help provide heating to homes and fuel for electricity generation during the ongoing winter storm.”
It first issued a weather and energy report on Sunday, updating it on Wednesday to say that “natural gas utilities are reporting no service issues providing home heating; several have pre-deployed trucks with compressed and liquid natural gas as backups for residential heating but have not needed to utilize them yet.
“Oil and gas operators along the natural gas supply chain, from production to pipelines to underground storage, are maintaining stable operations, and there is adequate natural gas supply in the state.”
The Texas Oil & Gas Association also pointed out that natural gas was keeping the power, lights and heat on in other parts of the country as well. “Across the U.S. natural gas production is holding steady and is forecasted to increase while power demand is beginning to decrease,” it said in a winter weather situation report.
“Texas natural gas production, processing, transmission, and storage sectors continues to perform,” the report states. “Overall, according to RBN Energy, Texas production is increasing 0.1 bcf for Thursday, February 2 to 24.7 bcf. Weather and road access issues continue to improve. Natural gas continues to be the dominant fuel source for power generation during the storm.”
The Texas Oil & Gas Association also pointed out that the state’s “natural gas supply is holding strong.” Natural gas production is outperforming all other types of energy sources despite hazardous travel conditions and some power outages in North, Central and West Texas.
As temperatures warmed above freezing in some areas of the state, Texans can expect ongoing cold weather conditions over the next several days with potential for ice Thursday night and Friday morning. Isolated heavy rain and flood potential is expected in East Texas through Thursday afternoon.
ERCOT also reported that the state’s grid was operational, and demand was normal as of 11 am. Thursday. Anticipated peak demand, it says, is expected to be around 5 p.m.