As a record winter storm swept across the country on Monday, millions of people in Texas shook themselves in the dark.
The Texas Electric Reliability Board, which manages the power grid for 26 million customers, called for power outages as the arctic weather froze wind turbines, pushed several power plants offline and increased demand for domestic systems.
Interruptions affecting more than 2 million people were initially expected to be short and 15 to 20 minutes, but many Texans reported losing power for hours.
“The eclipse just kept going, and as the night progressed, the temperatures just started to drop,” said Esteban Ramirez, 19, a student from Del Rio, west of San Antonio, on the Mexican border. He was hanging out on a couch with his mother and grandparents to stay warm after losing power at 2:30 p.m.
At one point, he said, the temperature was outside 6 degrees.
“It was scary,” he said. Power was out, except for a few short attacks for most of the day. His pipes froze and cut off running water to the house, and the dim light made it difficult for his grandfather to get his medication, he said.
“It was my first time experiencing anything like this,” he said. “I was afraid of not getting through the night.”
As the lights and heaters went out across the state, some Texans quickly wrapped pipes to prevent them from bursting. Others have investigated vulnerable friends and family members to ensure their safety as the temperature drops to levels rarely found in that part of the country.
In the Dallas area of Oak Cliff, Aline McKenzie, 59, a science writer at UT Southwestern Medical Center, took extra straw to keep her six chickens warm in their cage while she, her wife and their three cats in front ‘ a fireplace remained. .
She brought a camping stove into her house to cook. “My survival instincts are bearing fruit,” she said.
In Austin, Adria Johnson ate tortilla chips and half-thawed ravioli from her freezer after losing power at 2 a.m. – and all the ability to heat food.
By late afternoon, when she curled up under her three blankets in her apartment with her chihuahua, Bluebell, the power still had not turned on again.
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“It’s terribly cold,” she said, adding that icy roads make it dangerous to hide with friends. “I thought I could make it hard, but it’s really very cold.”
Johnson was watching news reports warning that her power would probably only return on Tuesday and get angry because the state’s energy suppliers were no longer prepared.
“After it’s over, I expect a settlement on why we could not provide,” she said. “Every summer we deal with several days of more than 100 temps in a row. Who would have guessed that we would not be able to handle a few days’ freezing temperatures?”