Datadog dashboard for the Texas power grid

The surprising inference from me, as an energy layman, is that solar output coincides with periods of peak demand. Obviously this is seasonally adjusted, but in an era when the Saudis have solar contracts being supplied for $10USD&#x2F;MWh [0], the potential profits for a solar provider at periods of peak demand seem more than sufficient to encourage investment, especially with interest rates still at a historic low for big capital projects.<p>So, what gives? Where&#x27;s the solar?<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;reneweconomy.com.au&#x2F;saudi-solar-plant-locks-in-new-record-low-price-for-power-1-04c-kwh&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;reneweconomy.com.au&#x2F;saudi-solar-plant-locks-in-new-r...</a>

I was looking at the source code linked from dashboard, and surprised a bit that it&#x27;s a gist, rather than a repository. Is it just to facilitate discussions on the code? Otherwise it feels a bit ad hoc that way, wouldn&#x27;t consider a gist with this many files more ergonomic compared to a repository.<p>Also, trying to follow to the data source of the Ercot website <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ercot.com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.ercot.com&#x2F;</a> I get blocked with things like this:<p><pre><code> Access Denied Error 16 This request was blocked by the security rules. If you believe you have a valid business reason for accessing ERCOT resources, please contact the ERCOT ServiceDesk at ServiceDesk@ercot.com. </code></pre> This seems ... pretty old school as well. Is it geofencing, or more general IP whitelisting? Feels very strange, guessing the former, as Google&#x27;s cache returns a page that can be viewed. I don&#x27;t see anything that would _really_ be drain on those ERCOT resources...

A lot of ERCOT heat these days. I work in energy and it’s both intriguing (because some things move faster there than other markets so there are more opportunities to advocate on the regulatory side of things) and just a mess (over RUC-ing costing consumers an extra ~$2B by the end of the year probably, extreme political spin on grid ops).<p>Two weeks ago I even threw together a simple Twitter bot[0] because I was annoyed with some of their communications there. This datadog dashboard has been around for a while - it shows up on energy Twitter somewhat frequently when the Texas grid is having issues.<p>[0] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;mobile.twitter.com&#x2F;ERCOT_Status" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;mobile.twitter.com&#x2F;ERCOT_Status</a>

I got hit with a rolling blackout on Thursday. Coincidentally, settlement prices skyrocketed to over $1.2k. I should connect this data to my power transfer&#x2F;backup power system to preempt potential blackouts

Odd to present temperature in Celsius for a US state, but otherwise very cool!<p>I wish it were easier to see the moments when demand and capacity were at their closest, as those are the &quot;interesting&quot; moments.

Neat! The California ISO grid has a really nice web and mobile app showing similar data. The site is complicated and has a lot of different views, it&#x27;s not as nicely organized a dashboard, but the data is great. Example view: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.caiso.com&#x2F;TodaysOutlook&#x2F;Pages&#x2F;default.aspx#section-ra-capacity-trend" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.caiso.com&#x2F;TodaysOutlook&#x2F;Pages&#x2F;default.aspx#secti...</a>

Normally, this EIA dashboard has all regions but it has been down for a month now. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.eia.gov&#x2F;electricity&#x2F;gridmonitor&#x2F;dashboard&#x2F;electric_overview&#x2F;US48&#x2F;US48" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.eia.gov&#x2F;electricity&#x2F;gridmonitor&#x2F;dashboard&#x2F;electr...</a>

What kind of information are we, as energy layman, supposed to glean from this? How can one present data in a way that conveys actual significance to the audience? All of this information, yet I still don&#x27;t feel any wiser.

I wish this were available for my power grid vendor. They send me emails in hot weather begging me to turn off my oven and ac. I know they send similar emails to much bigger power users too. It would be very nice if they had this data available, so big power users could plan.<p>Sometime in the next few years, power grid vendors will start to understand they&#x27;re in the real-time information business.

Can you add legends to the charts that have multiple items in it?

What are we supposed to glean from this as energy laymen? How do you provide data in a way that provides real meaning? All this data but no real insight.

Is purple capacity and blue demand?

HN is <i>obsessed</i> with the TX power grid....why?

Wonder if there’s one for blackout central — CA.

Some context: wind power is falling short during peak demand recently.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.realclearenergy.org&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2022&#x2F;07&#x2F;24&#x2F;this_one_ercot_chart_explains_why_texas_is_having_electricity_shortages_843990.amp.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.realclearenergy.org&#x2F;articles&#x2F;2022&#x2F;07&#x2F;24&#x2F;this_one...</a>