Tesla is trying to support the grid in its new home state of Texas as rising temperatures cause record electricity demand in the state.
The company is proposing a new in-car alert to encourage off-peak charging.
Texas has a notorious grid that is having issues supporting increasing peak electricity demand.
The issues appeared in winter, but the state’s electric grid is now not getting through these early summer temperatures very well.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced that six power generation facilities tripped offline yesterday.
In a statement propagated yesterday, ERCOT commented asked Texans to check their electricity usage between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.:
“With unseasonably hot weather driving record demand across Texas, ERCOT continues to work closely with the power industry to make sure Texans have the power they need. This afternoon, six power generation facilities tripped offline resulting in the loss of approximately 2,900 MW of electricity. At this time, all generation resources available are operating. We’re asking Texans to conserve power when they can by setting their thermostats to 78-degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances (such as dishwashers, washers and dryers) during peak hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. through the weekend.”
Tesla took notice of the statement and shared the advice with its fleet of electric vehicle owners in Texas.
In a new in-car notification, the automaker recommended to owners not to charge during peak hours (via Karlan Mitchell on Reddit):
“A heatwave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days. The grid operator recommends avoiding charging during peak hours between 3 pm and 8 pm, if possible, to help statewide efforts to manage demand.”
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Tesla is most known in Texas for its Gigafactory in Austin and moving its headquarters there last year. The company also aims to help the electric grid in the state.
The company has started a massive energy storage project made of 81 Megapacks, and it plans to deploy a lot more residential storage and solar.
Tesla is installing solar roofs and Powerwalls in new homes in a giant new residential project in Austin, Texas. Its energy division, Tesla Energy, will contribute more on that front since officially entering Texas’ mostly deregulated energy market.