A worker repairs a power line in Austin, Texas, USA, on Wednesday, February 18, 2021.
Thomas Ryan Allison | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The Texas Electric Reliability Council, known as ERCOT and controlling the majority of the state’s power, said it plans to emerge from emergency on Friday as power was returned to millions of customers left in the dark .
However, the effects of the deadly storm are still being felt in Texas.
ERCOT said that maintaining power was still critical. Nearly 200,000 customers in the state still do not have power, according to the latest data from PowerOutage.us. Utility officials say limited rolling barriers are still possible as demand for electricity rises.
At one point Tuesday, more than four million customers were without power.
Although the heat is returning, parts of the state’s water supply may now be in danger after the water pressure dropped, which could lead to possible pollution.
Alison Silverstein, an independent energy consultant and former strategic adviser to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said 20 million or more Texans could be forced to boil water.
ERCOT officials said during a virtual news conference on Thursday that the network is ‘seconds and minutes’ away from a much worse disaster, given the pace at which the generation is leaving the system. KXAN in Austin first reported the comments. If they had not cut power, according to Silverstein, the whole grid would have decreased.
Winter conditions have affected the production of natural gas, coal, renewable energy sources and other sources, just as consumers have increased their thermostats amid icy temperatures. The network can not match the demand and supply dynamics.
Natural gas production in Texas has fallen by about 30%, making it difficult for power companies to find the gas they need to run their power plants. According to some estimates, as much as four million barrels per day of crude oil production were taken offline.
Energy prices initially rose due to production shutdowns, but took a breather on Thursday with West Texas’ unpredictable futures contract and natural gas.
The declines in WTI continued Friday with trading below $ 60 a barrel. Earlier this week, WTI exceeded $ 60 for the first time since January 2020.
Henry Hub natural gas futures traded 1.95% on Friday, trading at $ 3,137 per million UK thermal units. For the week, natural gas rises by more than 7%.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called for an ERCOT appeal.
“The Texas Electric Reliability Board has been anything but reliable for the past 48 hours,” he said in a statement Tuesday. “There are too many Texans without power and heat for their homes because our state is facing icy temperatures and severe winter weather. That is unacceptable.”
Looking ahead, experts say the equipment that is mandatory could be overwintered as the steps to prevent future disasters.
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