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Heat is battering Texas’s power grid. Are giant batteries the answer?

The worst may be yet to come, with extreme weather forecast to persist into next weekend

By
June 24, 2023 at 8:00 a.m. EDT
An electric generator field is seen at the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center in Austin. Extreme temperatures across the state have prompted the National Weather Service to issue excessive heat warnings and heat advisories that affect more than 40 million people. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
6 min

The punishing heat dome that has settled over Texas is putting unprecedented strain on the state’s electricity system, leaving officials scrambling to keep the lights on and the air conditioners cranking.

The oppressive heat has endured for days, and it may get worse before the heat dome lifts. Some forecasts show temperatures soaring past 100 degrees in all three major metropolitan areas — Houston, Dallas and Austin — at once in the coming days. Tens of millions of people in Texas and nearby states have been under extreme heat advisories since June 14.