“Shattering the previous record, battery discharge peaked 20% higher than the previous record, which was set only the day before.”
Texas set records for demand, solar output, net load and battery discharge on August 20. Solar kept prices tame until sunset. Then units with fuel costs took over and the hub price nearly hit the $5,000 bid cap. ERCOT never issued a conservation call. The sun supplied the cheap power, batteries covered the evening, and the real crunch came in the gap between them.