The hits keep coming in Texas as the Lone Star State on Thursday set yet another power demand record for the week, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

For the third time since Monday, Power use in ERCOT broke a record by exceeding 71,000 MW in systemwide hourly peak demand. ERCOT’s demand reached 71,043 MW between 3 and 4 p.m. CDT Thursday and then topped out at 71,197 MW between 4 and 5 p.m. This exceeded Wednesday’s peak record by 625 MW.

Texas relies upon a portfolio of generation sources, including natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear. However, natural gas-fueled generation has accounted for about 57% of the power generated to meet peak demand, according to ERCOT (see Daily GPI, Aug. 11).

ERCOT exceeded 70,000 MW for two consecutive hours on Monday and then surpassed those levels Wednesday, during two consecutive hours.

“Our grid operators have done an excellent job managing the high demand we’ve seen this week, while also maintaining system reliability,” said Dan Woodfin, ERCOT director of system operations.

For the coming days, weather forecasts suggest that there will be less power consumption in Texas. On Friday the National Weather Service was forecasting Saturday’s high to be 96, but that was expected to drop to 90 on Sunday, with similar highs expected Monday and Tuesday.