Extreme cold could set a record high electricity use in Texas.
The next 4 days, is expected to bring extreme cold to North Texas, especially Monday and Tuesday. Severe events like this often result in accumulated ice on trees and power lines. Additional problems occur if the snow is wet and sticks in trees. Lamar Electric has been preparing for this and will have linemen standing by to deal with any outages.
Current ERCOT demand forecasts indicate load will peak around 71,000 MWh on both days. This would be approximately 8% higher than the all-time 15-minute weather peak of 66,068 MWh reached on January 17, 2018.
What you can do now:
We encourage all Lamar Electric members to reduce energy usage on Monday and Tuesday (February 15 and 16) between 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. Also, stay informed on current weather conditions. Take care of outside pets and disconnect all garden hoses.
What to do in the future:
Cold weather means more electricity is used, even if your main heat source is gas. Be aware of how much electricity is used by logging into your Lamar Electric account. That would be the SmartHub app which is available for free from the app store. Go to WWW.LamarElectric.Coop for more instructions on how to keep track of your electric usage.
If you are not already on the Level Billing/Average Monthly Payment plan, consider doing so. This allows extreme electric usage in the winter or summer, to be spread over the entire year. Most utilities, including Lamar Electric offer some type of Level Billing plan.