, killing more than 200 people, Enchanted Rock kept critical facilities operational from its Houston operations center., where the company he founded provides 12 megawatts of backup power. When the electric grid runs low on electricity, the natural gas generators provide power to the grid. When flooding strikes, the units ensure the pumping station can move 1 million gallons a minute away from nearby homes.
“When we were doing this, we really didn't have any competition,” McAndrew said. “And now, we're getting a lot of competition.”most energy shortages last less than four hours when demand peaks on the hottest days or coldest nights. How to address those peaks without overbuilding is the challenge in keeping electricity affordable.
Enchanted Rock can take 500 megawatts of electricity offline, enough to power 100,000 homes, when ERCOT’s supply gets tight and provide extra juice. The generators can run as long as the natural gas keeps flowing, for days at a time.