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Re:Ercot nearly at capacity for Texas power grid by da_big_ghey on Monday February 15, 2021 @06:21AM (#26141649)
Energy usage is superlinear below a certain point. As I recall, about 25% of homes in Texas use heat pumps. but below 30-ish degrees, heat pumps don't work and they have to switch to resistance-based heating So, demand will start rising a whole lot faster.
Re:Ercot nearly at capacity for Texas power grid by mmaurizi on Monday February 15, 2021 @07:15AM (#26142001)
There are newer heat pumps that work below 30 degrees, but they're more expensive and not typically used in Texas for obvious reasons.