In Texas, winter storm could cause power outages

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Government Greg Abbott issued a disaster statement for every Texas province on Friday afternoon as a severe winter storm threatens to wreak havoc on the state’s electricity network, power lines and roads.

“Texas must heed the guidance of its local leaders and remain vigilant about changing weather conditions in their area,” Abbott said in a press release.

The state’s power grid can see that the Texans reports this weekend are trying to keep a record-breaking electricity demand in the winter. This means that the capacity of Texas’ power grid, most of which is managed by the Texas Electric Reliability Board, is being tested. It is unclear whether this will result in a power outage in Texas, or a ‘rotating outage’, as ERCOT cites system outages.

“We have maybe seven days of severe stress here,” said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston.

Abbott’s order comes when the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or watches for most of the state. The icy weather is expected to last through the weekend and until Monday night. According to a warning, the Dallas-Fort Worth and Central Texas could see light ice and snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches.

Some areas have already experienced power outages or icy roads. In Fort Worth, more than 130 vehicles were involved in a deadly highway pile Thursday.

The warning in North Texas said the wind chill was expected to drop as little as 15 degrees. The service also predicts record-low, single-digit temperatures in much of Texas in the coming days. According to the Austin American-Statesman, the 6-degree forecast in Austin on Tuesday is the coldest low since December 1989.

“Travel will be dangerous,” the National Weather Service warned. “Dangerous conditions will continue for several days, given the expected long duration of exceptionally cold temperatures. The cold wind cools to as low as 15 below zero can result in hypothermia if no precaution is taken. ”

In the statement, Abbott wrote that the weather would pose a “threatening threat” of property damage, injury and loss of life due to the icy temperatures, snow and rain.

Abbott instructed the Texas Department of Emergency Management to use a variety of state resources, including through the Texas Department of Transportation to prepare roads, the Texas Highway Patrol to assist stranded drivers, and the Public Utility Commission to monitor power outages and to log on.

Power grid regulators expect electricity demand in the coming days to move just below the record demand typically seen in the summer, when Texans turned on their air conditioning to cool down. But the Texas electricity market is set for summer demand for electricity. It is not set up for winter, experts say.

Additional generators – such as natural gas plants – are underway to support the increased power demand during the Texas heat.

Some of these energy sources are offline during the winter, as the demand for electricity usually does not match the summer months, according to Hirs, the energy economist. And due to icy temperatures, many farms with wind turbines left dormant as the drivers operated the icy blades with diapers.

ERCOT spokeswoman Leslie Sopko urged Texans to follow the agency’s Twitter page and website for updates on the state of the network.

Companies that supply wholesale energy to households and businesses are getting emergencies. They keep crews across the state through the weekend when crews normally return home.

The Texas Electric Power branch in Texas, called AEP Texas, supplies energy to more than 1 million Texas homes and businesses in south and west Texas. Larry Jones, a spokesman for the company in Austin, said the disappearance was a last resort identified by ERCOT.

“We will issue turn-offs through parts of our service area,” Jones said Friday. ‘It can take from 45 minutes to an hour. You can rotate them to limit the impact on customers. ”

If an outage occurs, Jones says, AEP Texas says customers usually need to turn off large electronic devices in their home, such as washing machines and heating and ventilation units.

“It’s going to show people the difference between colds and colds,” Andrew Barlow, director of foreign affairs at the Public Utility Commission of Texas, an agency overseeing ERCOT, said of the coming weather. ‘Texans are used to our normal mild winter weather – one day below freezing, maybe a snowstorm, ice. But the weather models show that this thing can linger two or three days. It takes you from a turn to an enchantment. ‘

Correction, 12 February 2021: Due to a Reuters error, a previous caption for the photo about this story was misplaced where the photo was taken. It depicts Corpus Christi, not Robstown.