Consumption
According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the largest of Texas’ four electric grids, natural gas could provide about 72 percent of its total electric generation capacity if used at maximum output every hour of every day. But because cheaper fuel alternatives often are used when available, and plants are often down for maintenance and repair, Texas electric generators used natural gas to produce 46.6 percent of the electricity on the ERCOT grid in 2006 – still making it the most common fuel for electricity generation in the state.14 (For more on Texas electricity, see Chapter 27 of this report.)