| USA TODAY
Winter weather: Bumblebee photos of Texas cities covered in snow
A record-breaking winter storm continues to pour snow over the state of Texas.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
The claim: CPS Energy in San Antonio issued a warning about the failure of the network
In the wake of power outages in Texas due to extreme cold weather due to a winter storm, social media users share a false statement from the electrical utility company CPS Energy warning San Antonio residents about a ‘critical electrical charge’.
The alleged warning claims that the network will fail because CPS Energy can no longer support ‘critical infrastructure’ such as hospitals and that all water supply will soon be cut off.
The report urges users to “act immediately” to reduce energy consumption by setting thermostats to a maximum of 62 degrees. The statement adds that there is no ability to predict how long the interruptions will last.
“See San Antonio telling everyone about water before it’s cut off. Everyone’s going to family in that area. They’re really going to work for them. They’re already doing a rolling brownouts,” the Facebook message read on February 16 with the warning. “It just came on my phone.”
Other users on Facebook shared similar versions of the statement on public group pages. USA TODAY contact them for comment.
Fact check: Frozen wind turbines do not deserve all the blame for barriers in Texas
The statement does not come from CPS Energy
CPS Energy took to Twitter on February 16, confirming that the viral message is not an official statement from the energy company.
“WARNING: unofficial CPS Energy messages are being spread on social media,” the tweet read. “Although we offer several updates daily, you should know that it did NOT come from CPS Energy.”
Power outages in San Antonio
Speaking at a news conference on February 18, CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold-Williams said 10,000 customers were still without power, down from the more than 200,000 customers who went without power earlier this week, KSAT San Antonio reported .
She added that numbers have risen since the Texas Energy Reliability Board suspended mandate interruptions to maintain the larger network and that there has been an improvement in San Antonio’s energy status and landscape overnight.
Due to the outage of equipment, those who are still without power, according to Gold-Williams, will probably only see it solved on Monday 22 February.
Those who experienced no power outages are likely to live in the same area as sites considered ‘critical infrastructure’, including hospitals, police and fire stations and government offices, according to San Antonio Express-News.
ERCOT recommends turning off non-essential lights, closing blinds and turning off thermostats to 68 degrees, not 62 degrees, as the report claims.
Fact check: The price of oil did not more than double during the Biden presidency
Our rating: false
The claim that CPS Energy issued a statement regarding power outages warning the San Antonio, Texas area that the power grid will fail is FALSE, based on our research. CPS Energy has confirmed that the message distributed online is an unofficial statement and does not come from them.
Our sources for fact checking:
- CPS Energy, February 16, tweet
- KSAT San Antonio, February 18, “ERCOT suspends rollout, but CPS Energy customers without power can not see relief for days”
- CPS Energy, visit on 18 February, interruption card
- CPS Energy on Facebook, February 18, Thursday Media Briefing
- San Antonio Express-News, Feb. 17, “Thirty percent of CPS customers still without power”
- Texas Electric Reliability Board, February 14, “Network Operator Requests Energy Saver for System Reliability”
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.