AUSTIN, TX, March 2, 2014, 7 p.m. – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), grid operator for most of Texas, is asking electric consumers to limit their electric use as much as possible on Monday morning, March 3.

“The cold weather and accompanying wind that has spread across the region today is expected to result in high electric demand for tomorrow’s peak,” said Dan Woodfin, ERCOT director of System Operations. “Based on the level of generation supplies that we expect to be available, we are asking consumers throughout the ERCOT region to reduce their electricity use as much as possible Monday morning.”

Consumers can help ensure the system is able to continue serving current power needs by taking the following steps to reduce demand Monday morning:

• Keep your thermostat as low as is comfortable, preferably no higher than 68 degrees.
• Turn off and unplug non-essential lights and appliances.
• Avoid running large appliances, such as washers, dryers and electric ovens.
• Close shades and blinds at night to reduce the amount of heat lost through windows.
• Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.
• Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible.

“We have asked all available generation units to be prepared for tomorrow morning’s demand, but we believe conservation by consumers also will be necessary to help maintain overall reliability during this extreme winter weather,” said Woodfin.

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The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to nearly 24 million Texas customers - representing 85 percent of the state's electric load. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects more than 40,500 miles of transmission lines and 550 generation units. ERCOT also performs financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers retail switching for 6.7 million premises in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.

ERCOT Media Contact: Robbie Searcy, (512) 225-7213

rsearcy@ercot.com