Summer 2010 Texas Electricity Forecast: Costs and Supply

The Summer of 2010 will go down in energy history for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most compelling is the destruction of the offshore drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, and its aftermath. The rig, located approximately 40 miles off the Louisiana coast, caught fire and subsequently sank. The pipes on the ocean floor severed, resulting in millions of gallons of oil and natural gas being released into the water.

There are very few bright sides to the situation in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is fortunate for the electricity Texas consumer that the Lone Star State doesn't get its power from oil-burning plants. (That honor goes to natural gas.) The spill also creates a more advantageous climate for the many renewable energy projects that have been established in Texas. Indeed, the Summer of 2010 is an interesting time to be part of the Texas energy scene.

A primary concern upon heading into the heat of a long, hot Texas summer is whether electricity supplies will be plentiful enough. Not only is this necessary to keep all of those air conditioners humming, but an ample supply of energy is also crucial to keep your electric bills down. It's standard supply and demand; if there is a lower supply of energy and increasing demand, the price will increase in order to compensate. Fortunately, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) released good news for Texas electricity consumers.

On May 12, 2010, ERCOT released its yearly summer assessment, predicting that the electricity supply would be adequate to meet the needs of consumers. In fact, ERCOT foresees the supply exceeding demand by just over 21 percent. This is a significantly larger buffer than the 12.5 percent state officials like to have to prevent unanticipated power shutdowns. In fact, ERCOT's predictions seem bright well into the future. For the next five summers following 2010, in fact, the energy supply will exceed that 12.5 percent surplus, meaning that you shouldn't spend much time worrying about the possibility of rolling blackouts or air conditioner-free summer days. The supply numbers are somewhat staggering to the outsider; in the summer of 2010, electric generation will reach a peak of approximately 64,000 megawatts. By 2015, that number will be an amazing 70,500 megawatts.

This isn't even the best news about the 2010 electricity picture. Jack Z. Smith, writing for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, did a little investigation using the Power to Choose web site and concluded that electric rates, both variable and fixed, have decreased since the Summer of 2009. Part of this decrease was attributed to the deregulation of the Texas electricity market.

Perhaps another result of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf is that the accident is another reason to support increased development of alternative energies. Indeed, it will take quite some time before wind, solar and tidal electricity replaces the supply we get from burning fossil fuels. At the moment, however, wind turbines supply over eight percent of the juice that keeps your home cool during the summer. That number will only increase as proposed wind and solar projects continue to come on board and established facilities increase their output. For the moment, however, Texas still receives sixty percent of its electricity from burning natural gas.

One interesting alternative energy project that was proposed in the summer of 2010 was a $3 million biogas plant in Shiner, Texas. Spoetzl Brewery, a Lone Star State fixture, is creating a power plant that will convert the many useful byproducts of the brewing process into electricity. As reported by Environmental Leader, a web site that chronicles energy news for businesses, Spoetzl will reduce the brewery's carbon emissions by more than 500 metric tons and will eliminate eighty-five percent of the treatable waste that would otherwise end up in the factory's waste water.

Projects such as these are particularly inspiring; even though the Summer of 2010 poses its own energy challenges, public and private entities are stepping up to the plate, figuring out new and unexpected ways for Americans to solve their electricity supply and environmental concerns.