CPS Energy’s Calaveras Power Station generates power from natural gas and coal in Southeast San Antonio. Coal makes up about 18 percent of total energy production at CPS Energy.
Regulators say this may raise the risk of statewide power outages, such as the one that happened in February 2021 due to Winter Storm Uri. The statelooking “for alternatives that are capable of providing an acceptable solution to the reliability concerns that would otherwise be solved by the one or more of the Braunig Resources.”“We’re going to do what’s right for the state,” he said.
“The only reason that we’re saying today that we need to consider keeping those plants is because there are some local transmission risks in this area,” Vegas said. Vegas said until additional transmission lines are built in this area, which can take three to six years, there’s the risk of squeezes happening to areas below San Antonio.
Just like congested highways that stall with too many cars on the road, transmission lines across the state are limited to how much electricity they can carry at one time, without the risk of frying the lines. ERCOT works “like the air traffic controller” of these lines to prevent this, Vegas explained Thursday.