Introducing Texas Electricity Power Pulse: Tracking Reliability, Affordability, and Growth in ERCOT
The oil and natural gas industry is the backbone of Texas’ economy—powering value chains that support millions of jobs, drive U.S. energy supply and exports, and fuel the prosperity that makes Texas globally competitive.
To fuel that growth, the industry itself depends on reliable, cost-effective electricity to operate safely and efficiently. From drilling sites and pipeline compressor stations to refineries, petrochemical plants, and export terminals, electricity powers the systems that keep energy moving. And as field operations are increasingly electrified to reduce emissions, a stable and affordable grid is more essential than ever.
That’s why TXOGA has launched the Texas Electricity Power Pulse—a quarterly report tracking ERCOT electricity market trends and highlighting how natural gas underpins reliability, affordability, and economic growth.
Why these comparisons matter
Reliable and affordable electricity is a cornerstone of Texas’ economy. The oil and natural gas industry is both a major consumer of electricity and the primary supplier of natural gas that fuels nearly half of ERCOT’s power generation. Maintaining balance among rising demand, growing renewable generation, and the need for dispatchable capacity—energy available on demand—is critical to both Texas households and the industries that power the state’s economy and environmental progress.
ERCOT load growth reinforces reliability needs
Electricity demand across ERCOT continues to grow faster than anywhere else in the nation, driven by strong population growth, industrial expansion, and the rapid addition of data centers.
In Q3 2025, total electricity load reached 141,232 gigawatt-hours (GWh)—up 4.2% year over year and roughly 25% higher than in 2020. That’s equivalent to an average demand of 64 gigawatts (GW) over the quarter.
While this growth is impressive, a clearer test of grid reliability is whether enough firm, dispatchable power is available at any moment when intermittent sources decline. That measure—net peak load—reached about 70 GW in Q3 2025, underscoring the level of capacity ERCOT must keep ready to ensure reliability during periods of low renewable output.
To put it simply:
- Load growth reflects how electricity demand is expanding year-round.
- Net peak load shows the moment-to-moment reliability challenge that only dispatchable resources—especially natural gas—can meet.
As total demand and grid variability rise, dispatchable natural gas generation remains the linchpin of ERCOT’s reliability.
Natural gas: Key to ERCOT’s generation mix
ERCOT generation has grown nearly 25% since 2020, with
natural gas remaining the largest and most reliable source of power.
sources: ERCOT; EIA; TXOGA analysis
As ERCOT’s total generation has expanded, natural gas continues to anchor the grid’s reliability. In Q3 2025, natural gas supplied 47.6% of all ERCOT generation—more than wind and solar combined. Thermal and other dispatchable resources provided at least half of the region’s electricity in more than 90% of the quarter’s hours, underscoring their essential role in balancing the grid and preventing shortages during periods of peak and net peak demand.
Texas natural gas: abundant supply, reliable power
TXOGA estimates that Texas produced an average of 28.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of dry natural gas in Q3 2025—about four times more than ERCOT’s power sector consumed.
Total in-state consumption averaged 15.6 bcf/d, including 7.6 bcf/d for industry and 7.3 bcf/d for power generation. Since 2020, power-sector gas consumption has risen 15%, reinforcing the vital role of dispatchable generation in sustaining Texas’ competitive electricity prices and supporting economic growth.
The Bottom Line
Texas’ economy depends on reliable, affordable electricity—and natural gas remains central to that reliability. With unmatched scale, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness, natural gas keeps ERCOT’s grid stable, supports industrial expansion, and advances environmental progress.
Through the Texas Electricity Power Pulse, TXOGA will continue to track these trends each quarter—bringing clear, factual insights into how natural gas and electricity work together to power Texas’ prosperity.