The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has canceled its call for electricity conservation which had been in effect earlier Tuesday during a brutal cold snap, officials said. Texans, no longer under the advisory from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., are resuming their normal usage, even as the state's grid operator braces for additional strain as the freeze continues.

ERCOT had issued the alert due to the double whammy of high demand, spurred by the frigid temperatures, and sluggish solar energy production in the early hours. According to the Houston Chronicle, wind power generation, also lagging earlier today, contributed to the strain on Texas's power resources.

The conservation notice yesterday highlighted the urgent need to manage consumption, but ERCOT indicated no emergency conditions were at hand. "ERCOT will remain vigilant and communicate further if conditions change because of continued freezing temperatures and very high demand in the morning hours," the grid operator's statement underscored, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Record-breaking energy usage has marked this January's severe weather, with ERCOT reporting a peak demand hitting 70,982 megawatts on Jan. 14, and spiking further to 75,770 megawatts the following Monday. These figures blew past the previous record set in 2018 when demand reached a then-high of 65,915 megawatts. Forecasts had projected a peak demand to surpass 81,000 megawatts at 8 a.m. today, amid the sustained Arctic blast.