Natural Gas Fired Electricity Production in Texas Approached Record Highs During Cold Snap: EIA

Natural gas fired electricity production came close to record highs for both hourly and daily production during the February 19-22 cold snap, according to a March 18 report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Power demand in Texas historically follows a seasonal trend, peaking in the summer amid heat waves and in the winter during periods of below seasonal normal temperatures. During peak demand periods, the electric grid in Texas managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) must have dispatchable power generation sources accessible, in order to satisfy domestic demand. Usually increases in power demand are principally supplied by natural gas fired generation. In addition to demand surges, natural gas-fired production increases to fulfil supply necessities during periods of lower solar and wind production.

During February’s cold weather event, demand rose and both solar and wind generation declined significantly. Accordingly, natural gas-fired power production rose to 48.8 gigawatts (GW) for the hour starting 6am on February 20, up 193 percent compared to the same period on February 18 and down 1 percent compared to the previous high established on January 16, 2024.  Hourly natural gas fired power generation in Texas rose to 49.4 GW on Jan.16 for the hour starting 7pm and amounted to 986.2 gigawatt hours (GWh) for the day.

Even though hourly natural gas production peaked on Feb. 20, daily natural gas-fired power production peaked during the cold weather event on Feb.21 at 991.9 GWh. Natural gas production on Feb. 21 was the second-highest daily level ever documented in ERCOT and 1 percent lower than the former record achieved on December 23, 2022.

Over the last few years, winter storms and other maintenance events have impacted gas supply in Texas. Despite this, natural gas supply in the state had been sufficient enough to fulfil peak generation demand during Winter 2023. Extreme weather conditions in previous winters have led to weatherization standards to be implemented in August 2022, which necessitate vital natural gas infrastructure and assets, including pipelines providing electricity generation facilities to be safeguarded against weather mishaps.