The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) announced last week that six of its power generation facilities went offline following a high demand for power amid a heatwave. During the outage, the six stations would have produced enough electricity to power more than half a million homes. Electric automaker Tesla, which is now headquartered in the state, followed up by asking owners of its vehicles to avoid charging their cars during peak hours in order to help prevent a further increase in demand for electricity.

"A heatwave is expected to impact the grid in Texas over the next few days," reads a photo of a message pushed to Tesla vehicles in Texas posted to Reddit last week. "The grid operator recommends avoiding charging during peak hours between 3 pm and 8 pm, if possible, to help statewide efforts manage demand."

For EV owners in Texas, conserving electricity doesn't just mean charging during off-peak hours. It also means adjusting driving habits—perhaps driving less overall or not turning the air conditioning down quite as far. Given that Texas also has the third-highest number of electric cars registered in the entire United States, it's easy to see how reducing the number of EVs charging at one time could reduce the stress on an already taxed grid.

According to research conducted by AAA, EVs can experience up to a 17 percent drop in range with the air conditioning on in 95-degree weather. Tesla has previously disputed this figure, according to The Verge, as have owners. However, there is one clear way to ensure that a vehicle is spending less time plugged in: don't take frequent, short trips that allow the cabin to become hot between drives. Maintaining a set temperature consumes less energy than cooling a sun-heated cabin, so reducing the number of short trips may prevent the need to plug in as frequently during a time when the power infrastructure is in high demand......

https://www.thedrive.com/news/tesla-asks-texan-owners-to-limit-charging-due-to-heat-wave

Electric cars for the masses is a pipe dream.

Oh, it might happen. A hundred years from now.!!

Electric cars for the masses is a pipe dream.

It’s actually pretty easy atleast in Texas. Eliminate the EPA red tape and influence and you have some pretty nice natural gas mega plants

It’s actually pretty easy atleast in Texas. Eliminate the EPA red tape and influence and you have some pretty nice natural gas mega plants

In parts of California they charge you an extra $700/month on your electric if you own an electric car, a surcharge I believe they are calling it.

In parts of California they charge you an extra $700/month on your electric if you own an electric car, a surcharge I believe they are calling it.

You mentioned the problem, erase the epa red tape. Pigs will fly before that happens (and i am not talking about pigs flying in DNS’s videos)

They need to charge a road use tax in all states to make up for the gasoline taxes that EVs owners are not paying.

Ooooh, I ache for an electric car (not really). When can I get an electric tractor, I wonder? That should be a less than ideal tractor.