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_ _ ~, ._---- - -- -----~ -.. --~--i -----a---~--- - _. <br />Drop in wind power leads <br />to grid emergency in Texas <br />A dramatic drop in wind power in Texas was the apparent cause of a <br />three-hour emergency on the state's grid in late February. <br />The Electric Reliability Council of Texas said it carried out the sec- <br />ond stage of its emergency grid procedures the evening of Tuesday, <br />Feb. 26 after a major loss of wind generation. Wind production, which <br />had been running at 1,700 MW, plummeted to as low as 300 MW <br />that evening, right before the emergency procedures were activated, <br />ERGOT said. <br />ERGOT dropped 1,100 MW of load within 10 minutes by cutting <br />power to interruptible customers. <br />Terry Hadley, a spokesman for the Texas Public Utility Commission, <br />said it was the most serious event on the state's grid since Texas expe- <br />rienced rolling blackouts in April 2006. He said PUC staff have begun <br />an inquiry. <br />Preliminary reports "indicate the frequency decline was caused by <br />a combination of events, including a drop in wind energy production <br />at the same time the evening electricity load was increasing, accompa- <br />nied by multiple power providers falling below their scheduled energy <br />production," ERGOT said. ^ <br /> <br />