BPUB Asks Customers to Conserve Electricity

The Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) asks its customers to conserve electricity from today until Friday, June 5, especially during peak demand hours between 3-7 p.m. This request is being made as part of a call to limit or reduce electrical use in the Lower Rio Grande Valley sent out by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

BPUB wants its customers to know this issue is not isolated to any one energy provider or area in the Valley. It’s something that affects everyone in the Valley and is being done to avoid overloading the Rio Grande Valley power grid. According to ERCOT, unplanned outages of electrical generation units as well as high summer demand necessitated this request.

At this time, ERCOT does not anticipate a need for rolling blackouts in the Rio Grande Valley, but limiting or reducing electric use will help ensure this step will not be necessary. Customers can conserve electricity by turning off unnecessary lights, not washing and drying clothes during peak hours (3-7 p.m.), and turning up thermostats on air conditioning units.