How Power Grid Failed Millions in Texas Amid Disastrous Freeze

By Joshua Summers First Posted: Feb 20, 2021 10:50 PM EST

All The Ways The Power Grid in Texas Failed

(Photo : Joe Raedle)
A sign warns of icy conditions on Interstate Highway 35 on February 18, 2021 in Killeen, Texas. Winter storm Uri has brought historic cold weather and power outages to Texas as storms have swept across 26 states with a mix of freezing temperatures and precipitation.

The historic winter weather in Texas led to a disaster when the state's populace has spent days without electricity due to a failure in their power grid. This affected a significant number of residents as record-breaking cold continue to cover the area, leaving households to get through the cold without heat.

According to Huffington Post, at least 36 people were reported dead due to carbon monoxide exposure in utilizing their cars and generating heat. However, this scenario is never imagined since Texas has its power grid and generates its energy.

Texas Power Grid

Most of Texas taps the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) for power. However, the service of ERCOT does not cover the whole of Texas and El Paso, part of East Texas, and a portion of the upper Panhandle gets its energy source from other grids. Meaning, these mentioned areas did not have their power interruption during the record-breaking cold.

Young African Leaders Initiative shares that the power grid is a place where electricity or power is made. The giant towers with wires that stretch from great miles to another are only a part of a power grid and are how the power is transmitted to households.

According to experts, one of the reasons why the number one power generating state ran out of power is because the power grid is not prepared for the surge in demand caused by the storm's below-freezing temperatures.

They add that the extreme cold affected many gas-fired power plants when the demands were climbing, and the wind turbines stopped working due to the harsh weather conditions.

In an interview with the Huffington Post, ERCOT President Bill Magness said that the power grid is near "seconds and minutes" away from falling.

Another catastrophe Texas will have to face when they did not take drastic action, as the failure may leave the state without electricity for months. And that action is to prevent the rolling blackouts.

Texas Tribune shares that the energy and policy experts note that Texas' decision not to require their equipment upgraded to better withstand and perform in extreme winter temperatures, and choice in operating mostly isolated from other grids in the united states left their power system unprepared for the current winter crisis.

Who should be responsible?

In an interview with NBC, Governor Gregg Abbott notes that every source of power Texas has access to is compromised, demanding ERCOT for an investigation, which is the least that should be done. However, the Texas tribune shares that policy observers blame the power system failure on the legislators and state agencies, who, according to them, did not correctly address the warning of previous storms.

Meanwhile, retired former director of Public Citizen, who advocated for changes after the 2011 energy crisis in the state, Tom Smith, says that the regulation should be changed to protect the people and not the profit, and coming up on guidelines.

With the continuous cold in Texas, and as the power grid continues to fall, the disaster for the state's citizens will continue.