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A meme depicting an air conditioner with the caption "come and take it" referencing the ERCOT Conservation Alert in June 2021.

ERCOT Conservation Alert June 2021

Updated Jun 16, 2021 at 01:38PM EDT by Zach.

Added Jun 16, 2021 at 09:08AM EDT by Phillip Hamilton.

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Overview

ERCOT Conservation Alert June 2021 refers to a call by The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for Texans made on June 14th, 2021, to reduce the amount of electricity they're using due to "tight grid conditions" brought on by summer heat. Among the requests, the alert specifically asked Texans to set their thermostats to specific temperatures to conserve power, which coincided with a heatwave. The requests were met with heavy criticism, resulting in numerous hashtags calling out ERCOT, as well as memes and posts mocking them.

Background

On June 14th, 2021, ERCOT[1] posted a conservation alert asking Texans to reduce their electricity use as much as possible due to tight grid conditions. The tight grid conditions are allegedly due to forced generation outages and record-high electrical use in Texas over the course of June among intense summer heat. The alert goes on to describe how much energy has been used over the course of June and confirmed that they are investigating the number of outages. They also list a number of guidelines[2] for Texans to follow to reduce electricity:

  • Set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher – every degree of cooling increases your energy use by six to eight percent.
  • Turn off lights and pool pumps and avoid using large appliances like ovens, washing machines and dryers.
  • If you don’t need something – we are asking you to turn it off and unplug it if possible.

The alert was reported on by a number of news outlets[3][4] over the course of the week, many making explicit note of ERCOT releasing the alert during a heatwave.[5] Reactions to the news were primarily critical almost immediately.[10]


Notable Developments

People were immediately critical of ERCOT's requests, taking to Twitter to mock them and show their refusal to stop using electricity, particularly their AC. Many also compared the power grid's failure's to February's extreme cold event in Texas, which also caused power grid failures and left many without heat and clean water.[6] For example, on June 14th, the day of the alert's release, Twitter[7] user @Issachdz1 posted a For The Better, Right? meme comparing the events, garnering over 5,700 likes and 1,400 retweets in two days (shown below).


83814 ERCOT The Texas power grid just isn't equipped to handle cold. But it can handle heat, right? imgflip.com It can handle heat, right?

On the same day, Twitter[8] user and comedian Blaire Erskine posted a video posing as an ERCOT spokesperson making a nonsense statement on the event, notably using the line, "Would you rather have AC or AOC?," garnering over 48,900 likes and 7,800 retweets in two days (shown below). The post was reported on by the Independent.[9]


On June 15th, Facebook[10] page Texas Is Life posted a Pawn Stars meme referencing the event, garnering over 4,800 reactions and 13,000 shares in 20 hours (shown below, left). On the same day, a photograph[12] taken of a TV screen showing specific temperature directions from ERCOT began spreading on social media, notably posted to Instagram[11] page @oldrowofficial, garnering over 49,000 likes in a day (shown below, right).


ercot Please set your thermostat to 78 degrees or higher Best I can do is 72 Recommendations from ERCOT Translate Tweet THERMOSTAT RECOMMENDATIONS 78°F when you're home 85 F when you're away 82°F when you're sleeping TIPS ON CONSERVING ENERGY THIS WEEK

The hashtags #ERCOTfailsTexasAgain, #ERCOT, #TexasPowerGrid and #TexasDeservesBetter all gained significant traction throughout the week. Many took to blaming the conservative government in charge for the power grid's failures, particularly after being assured by Governor Greg Abbott that the power grid issues were being taken care of (example shown below).[13]


The event also inspired a new flock of memes mocking Texas Senator Ted Cruz, specifically joking about his 2021 Cancun Vacation controversy when he fled from Texas during the power grid's winter failure to Cancun, Mexico (examples shown below).[14]


SET YA THERMOSTATTO 78 PANIONY IGHT IMMA HEAD OUT imgflip.com Sundae Gurl ... @Sundae_Gurl Ted Cruz flees for Alaska as the Texas power grid collapses 6

Various Meme Examples


you want electriciy how about how about SOme guns & border walls ustead COME AND TAKE IT Conservatives with the government Conservatives with Private Companies THE GOVERNMENT ISN'T GOING TO TELL Yes Mr. Ercot. I'll set my thermostat to 82 degrees while l'm sleeping because you can't provide a modern grid. ME WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE! THAT'S COMMUNISM!!! Ercot: we are requesting you put your thermostat on 78 and don't run any other appliances. Техas: BIG DILL The f--- you are. Investigating the Texas Power Grid Failure AY PO PUG Gov. Abbott FERC ERCOT Cancun Ted Natural Gas TX Legislature TX Electric Providers THE THERMOSTAT STAYS AT 72

Search Interest

External References

[1] ERCOT – Tight grid conditions expected due to high number of forced generation outages

[2] ERCOT – Conservation Alert

[3] KXAN – Texans asked to reduce electric use through Friday

[4] Texas Tribune – Texas grid operator urges electricity conservation as many power generators are unexpectedly offline and temperatures rise

[5] abc – Texas residents asked to conserve energy by ERCOT amid heat wave

[6] CNBC – How the Texas power grid failed and what could stop it from happening again

[7] Twitter – Remember at the beginning of the year

[8] Twitter – ERCOT spokesperson

[9] Independent – Would you rather have AC or AOC

[10] Twitter – no i don't think i will

[11] Instagram – Ya, that’s gonna be a no for me dawg

[12] Twitter – ercot recommendations

[13] Twitter – This tweet didn't age well

[14] Twitter – alaska

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