It is the first time the usage exceeds 73,000 megawatts in the ERCOT region

Texas set a new all-time system-wide peak demand record two hours in a row Thursday afternoon, topping out at 73,259 megawatts between 4 and 5 p.m., according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

The record usage represents the first time ERCOT peak demand has exceeded 73,000 megawatts in the ERCOT region, which covers Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Corpus Christi, Abilene and the Rio Grande Valley.

Additionally, the record reached on Thursday was more than 1,000 megawatts higher than the previous record, which was reached the day before, Wednesday July 18, when the usage between 4 and 5 p.m. was 72,192 megawatts.

“We are headed as a state into even more extreme temperatures than we've seen in the past few days,” ERCOT spokesperson Theresa Gage said in a statement, while adding that “everyone in the ERCOT market – from our operators to generators to transmission providers to retailers – is doing what they can to keep the power on for consumers.”

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