ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas stated that the enhancement is designed to provide a more efficient and effective way to communicate with the public. “Communicating effectively with Texans remains a priority. These improvements ensure the public is receiving current and accurate information on grid conditions,” Vegas said in a statement. The system serves more than 27 million Texas electricity customers, which accounts for approximately 90% of the state’s total electric load.
Under the upgraded system, subscribers can choose to receive alerts in English or Spanish. The notifications cover a range of grid conditions, including Weather Watches issued when grid conditions are still normal to provide advance notice of potential issues, voluntary conservation requests, and emergency conditions that could lead to controlled power outages. It is important to note that these alerts reflect statewide grid conditions rather than specific neighborhood outages; residents experiencing a local power cut should contact their local electric utility for direct information.
TXANS was originally launched by ERCOT in 2023 to provide advance notice of weather conditions and periods of high electricity demand. At that time, the system was limited to weather watches and voluntary conservation requests and did not replace separate alerts issued during grid emergencies. The current update integrates those emergency notifications into the existing framework while introducing the text message capability. Existing subscribers who previously received TXANS emails have been automatically transferred to the upgraded system and can update their notification preferences by logging into the portal with their registered email address.
Residents who are not already registered can sign up for notifications through ERCOT’s website. The council stated that the changes are intended to speed up the delivery of information and make it easier for Texans to access reliable data on grid status. In addition to the alert system, ERCOT maintains online dashboards that allow the public to monitor real-time electricity supply and demand figures.
