Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is under scrutiny over his handling of mass power outages in the state caused by severe winter weather conditions as he prepares to vote for re-election next year on two major disasters.
Gilberto Hinojosa, chairman of the Democratic Party, accused Abbott of “playing politics with alternative sources of energy” in a statement, saying that while the residents of Lone Star State are struggling, the governor “continues to relax and to wait ‘.
Julián Castro, the former Democratic mayor of San Antonio and secretary of Housing and Urban Development under former President Obama, tweeted that Abbott “was not prepared for this storm, was too slow to react and now blames everyone but himself for this mess. ”
Millions of Texas residents were left without power because the state experienced extreme cold weather, with a number of areas recording temperatures in the single digits. And forecasts show more cold weather on the way.
Virtually the entire city of Galveston has been cut off from power since early Monday morning, and nearby Houston is also being hit hard by disruptions. Social media is filled with Texans struggling to keep medical equipment at work, unsuccessful attempts to find available hotel rooms, and frustration at not knowing when the lights and heat will burn again. Some areas also have limited water supply or cell phone coverage due to power outages.
The emergency comes as Abbott prepares to run for his third term as governor. A poll by the University of Houston, released earlier this month, showed him with 39 percent approval. President Biden
Joe BidenMcConnell does not rule out getting involved in Republican primary. Perdue submits paperwork to explore Hillicon Valley Senate in 2022: Parler announces official resettlement | Google concludes news payment deal with major Australian media company China central to GOP’s efforts to push Biden back MORE, which Texas lost in the 2020 election, achieved a higher approval rating at 41 percent.
Democrats have long worked to create a “blue wave” in Texas in hopes of reversing the traditional red state, but their efforts have fallen short. Nevertheless, Democrats in the state have been pointing to progress over the past few years. President Biden lost state to former President Trump
Donald Trump Democrat Dingell of Michigan on violent rhetoric: ‘I had men in front of my house with assault weapons’ McConnell does not rule out getting involved in Republican primary. 75 percent of Republicans want Trump to play a prominent role in IDP: MORE poll by 6 points, lower than former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton Sullivan is a ‘listener’ Trump lawyer of Biden’s national security, who manages defense around attacks on Democrats: trial ends for a day while the senate votes more‘s loss of 9 points to Trump in 2016. And former Representative Beto O’Rourke (D) came within the point of dismissing Sen. Ted Cruz
Rafael (Ted) Edward Cruz Juan Williams: Bringing Common Sense Back to GOP Memorandum: Trump is Infected, but China Is Not Central to GOP Efforts to Push Biden Back (R) in 2018.
Hinojosa said Abbott’s handling of the power outages in the winter weather, coupled with what critics say is Abbott’s response to the coronavirus, could put Democrats over the edge in 2022.
“We’re going to hang all this stuff around his neck because people need to be reminded how awful he was as governor,” Hinojosa said.
The Hill reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.
The governor is taking a series of steps to tackle the crisis, including using the state’s national guard in an effort to help move vulnerable people, including the elderly, to warm shelters.
And he pleaded guilty Tuesday to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and asked state lawmakers to begin an investigation into the council.
“The Texas Electric Reliability Board has been anything but reliable for the past 48 hours,” Abbott said. “It’s unacceptable. The review of the preparations and decisions by ERCOT is an emergency item, so that we can get a complete picture of what caused this problem and find long-term solutions. ”
The disruptions this week could be linked to deregulation, as well as the fact that Texas is unique in having a power network in the state, which could turn it off from aid from other parts of the country if there is a shortage of power. In addition, many power plants are not equipped to operate in such cold temperatures.
“Texas is virtually an electric power island, you can not get more if you need it, and it is intentional, so Texas sets the rules for the operation of Texas,” said Robert Cullick, a former head of Austin Energy, said The Hill Tuesday.
Speaking from his home in Central Texas that has been without power for the past two days, Cullick said Abbott’s promise to look at the power system was in arrears.
‘Who is responsible for ensuring that there is enough capacity to serve enough customers in the state? ‘As it is ERCOT … but not in the same way as before the 1990s, where utilities could be fined for not coming through with electric power, they said they would come up with it,’ Cullick said.
“The state has had it reviewed several times and has decided each time that it does not want to pay for every utility industry to have the service capacity,” he notes.
Texas residents have received mixed messages from ERCOT and other private companies.
Margaret Bentley, a Texas resident, told The Hill that she had just regained strength at her West Texas home in Alpine after being without it for two days, during which her water heater burst and the temperature was within about 40 degrees. has dropped.
“Customers have been asked to save as much as possible on unnecessary electrical use,” Bentley said. The interruptions were meant to be ‘eclipses’, and I was prepared for an interruption of about five hours, but I never expected that we would stay out of action for more than 48 hours and that the temperature would be well below freezing. stay. most of that time. ”
“I have no idea how it could have gone with the elderly or people who were sick or had oxygen or struggling with COVID,” she added.
ERCOT’s senior director of systems operations said the council was optimistic the number of outages would be reduced during the day, while Texas energy group Oncor tweeted that ERCOT “can not predict when network conditions will stabilize”, and said customers request to prepare for prolonged interruptions. .
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) has called on state affairs and energy resources committees to meet next week for a joint hearing to examine the factors that led to the widespread power outages.
Other politicians in the state also called for an investigation into ERCOT, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, whose own home was without power Tuesday.
As a result of state leadership over the issue, local leaders often hold hands over power-related issues, such as ‘uninterrupted’ ones affecting the state during the sweltering summer months.
A Dallas mayor’s spokesman Eric JohnsonEric Johnson, Mayor of Dallas, announcing MORE ‘#BeLikeBo Day’ on September 29, Botham Jean’s birthday (D) told The Hill that ERCOT did not inform the office of the situation, and while Johnson was opening the heating centers in the area, he could do little to restore power.
“We do not have a municipal utility. … All things are out of our hands. Some people appealed to the mayor to turn on the power again; we do not have that ability, ”the spokesperson said.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler (D) has called for ‘systemic changes’ as a result of the crisis.
“So many colds and no strength, people in danger and everyone frustrated, including me,” Adler said in a statement to The Hill. ‘ERCOT must explain how millions of Texans are without power. ‘Role’ interruptions are not it. Systemic changes must take place. It happens every ten years and there needs to be a better plan. ‘
Despite the setback against ERCOT, Democrats say Abbott is ultimately responsible for failing to act earlier to prepare the state for an emergency.
‘We have a state network that has collapsed due to the fact that the energy system in the state, the power system has been deregulated over the years, and that not enough money has been invested in the system to maintain and improve . the power stations, ”said Hinojosa.
And Rep. Joaquin Castro
Joaquin Castro Major GOP senators questioned when Trump knew Capitol was violated Democrats blast Trump team videos: ‘False equivalence’ LIVE COVERAGE: Trial ends for a day as the Senate goes to vote MORE (D-Texas) tweeted that Abbott “is the person who is making it so bad.”