Millions of people in Texas have spent days below freezing temperatures without power in what officials call a “total failure” of the state’s electricity infrastructure. How did the oil and gas rich Texas – the largest producer of energy in the USA – get here?
Although there are many factors that led to the power outages in Texas, the state power grid was scrutinized in light of the storm. Here’s what we know so far about Texas’ power grid and the role it played in the state’s winter disaster.
Who controls Texas’ power grid?
The “Lone Star” stipulates that it should only go when it comes to delivering power to its inhabitants. Texas is unique among the 48 adjacent U.S. states in that it relies on its own power grid. The other 47 states are all part of the two power networks that serve the eastern and western half of the country.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, known as Ercot, manages the state’s power grid. Ercot is technically a non-profit corporation, and although it operates independently of the state government, the corporation is overseen by a state agency called the Public Utility Commission of Texas. Members of the commission are appointed by the governor of the state.
Texas is the only state in the country except Alaska and Hawaii, which is not part of the Eastern Interconnection or Western Interconnection, the two major power grids in the US. This means that Texas is not regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), the agency that oversees electric transmission between states. Instead, Texas is basically ‘an electric island in the United States’, as described by Bill Magness, CEO of Ercot. While this means that Texas has more control over electricity in the state, it also means that there are fewer power stations that the state can rely on for power.
Parts of Texas are not serviced by Ercot. El Paso at the western tip of the state gets power from the Western interconnectedness, and therefore the city is saved from the cruelest consequences of the power outages.
Why are there so many people without power?
Ercot turned off the power to millions of customers after several power plants went on strike due to the freezing temperature experienced by the state. Ercot officials said the equipment at the plants could not handle the extreme, low temperatures. The choice was to turn off power to customers or to risk a network crash.
Why is Texas on its own power grid?
As long as there is electricity in Texas, the state, which is proud of its independence, trusts itself for power. State officials have long had a stubborn will to stay out of the hands of federal regulators.
While Ercot CEO Magness said the shutdown was mainly due to “weather-related reasons”, critics said the Texas energy market was driving cheap prices at the expense of delaying maintenance and improving of power stations. In 2011, the state experienced similar disruptions, although for a shorter period of time compared to what was seen this week.
Following the blackouts, the Ferc issued a series of recommendations to Ercot to prevent future blackouts, including increasing reserve levels and weathering facilities to protect them from cold weather.
Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston, told the Washington Post that Ercot “collapsed on underinvestment and neglect until it finally broke down under predictable conditions”.
Did renewable energy play a role in the malfunction of the network?
While Republicans blame frozen wind turbines for the state strike, officials and experts say malfunctions in natural gas operations have played the biggest role in the power crisis.
Ercot said all of its power sources, including those of renewable sources, are affected by the freezing point. The state relies largely on natural gas for its power supply, although some comes from wind turbines and less from coal and nuclear sources.
Natural gas can handle the high temperatures in summer, but extreme cold weather makes it difficult for the gas to flow to power plants and heat homes. Michael Webber, a professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Texas Tribune that “gas is currently failing in the most spectacular way.”
As the climate crisis is likely to cause more freak weather events, as Texas is experiencing, it is noteworthy that there are places experiencing icy cold weather that rely heavily on wind turbines and gain power in the winter. In Iowa, a state that sees freezing diseases more than Texas, nearly 40% of the electricity is generated by wind turbines.
What are officials doing to prevent future blackouts?
With millions still in power by the end of Wednesday, Texas officials remain committed to regaining power with residents and repairing the damage caused by the storm. Politicians from both major parties criticized Ercot for dealing with the storm, but officials failed to provide examples of specific corrections. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called on Ercot, declaring it a state of emergency for the state legislature.
But some leaders in Texas have made it clear that they believe Texas should remain independent of the national power grids. Rick Perry, a former state governor who also served as Donald Trump’s energy secretary until 2019, said: “Texans would be without electricity for more than three days to keep the federal government out of their pockets.”