Millions of Texans face power outages as grid problems continue

Millions in Texas are still in the dark following the deadly winter storm that caused the state’s worst blackouts in decades, leaving households without power as temperatures dropped to record lows.

While the state scrambles to restore power, questions are arising about why Texas was so ill-equipped, and what can be done to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

A confluence of factors led to the historic blackouts, and officials are already calling for investigations into the chain of events.

Looking forward, experts say there are a number of steps the state can take to combat future issues, including weatherizing equipment and increasing reserve margins.

“We need to better realize how vulnerable our energy systems are — both electricity and the vulnerability of electricity and natural gas systems together,” said Daniel Cohan, associate professor at Rice University. “This is going to take some regrouping and there’s not going to be a single step. We’re going to need a portfolio of steps.”

The storm dumped snow and ice across the Midwest and South, taking power production offline just as consumers turned up their thermostats amid the frigid temperatures.

No power source was immune — coal, natural gas, crude, wind and solar production all dipped. Pipeline freezes impeded the flow of natural gas and crude oil. The outages were concentrated in Texas as the grid was forced to shed load, unable to keep pace with the spike in demand. At one point, more than four million people were without power.

“It was a black swan event from the demand side and supply side, and the freeze-off created this supply issue,” said Michael Bradley, managing director at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. He noted that equipment freezing is not a headline event.

However, over the weekend all 254 Texas counties were placed under weather advisory warnings, which is rare. Typically if a cold front hits one area, production moves elsewhere. That wasn’t possible this time around, and icy roads meant equipment couldn’t be serviced.

Of course, power equipment operates in places that are much colder than Texas, so one step that can be taken would be to winterize equipment. The state is used to extreme heat and drought, but its infrastructure simply is not equipped to operate in extreme cold.

“They have the infrastructure in place that meets the needs 99.9% of the time,” said Rebecca Babin, senior equity trader at CIBC Private Wealth. “On these tail events, they’re really ill equipped. They’re not incentivized to invest in the infrastructure to make those improvements.”

Texas has the only deregulated power market in the U.S.

The majority of the state’s power is controlled by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which is known as ERCOT. It’s a competitive pricing market, meaning it trades on supply and demand. Companies are trying to bring the cheapest form of energy to the market, which can come at the expense of building out more reliable infrastructure systems.

“Texas has chosen to operate its power grid as an island,” noted Rice University’s Cohan, which means the state can’t import power from other states when it’s most needed. He added that the impacts are also felt in the summer, when Texas has an abundance of power that it can’t export.

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[mshaddds]

Mattress Mack is a Houston hero! He’s known and beloved by everyone in the city for all the aid & generosity he’s given through every disaster.

[Dragonslayer]

Damn, that's not a house, thats a mansion

[trinacorbett]

Boil some water outside on the barbecue... and put it in a stainless steel water bottle to put in your coats or blankets. Snow is water. Put your food outside to refrigerate it if the power is out.

[jeremie.flanagan]

Why they showing the rich homes show the homes in the hood

[msdsrx]

he just goes in someone's home while they're not there. lol

[papiamable]

PRAY for everyone in Texas to stay warm.

[angieram]

Prayers to all and specially to the homeless and people that live in their cars.

[mattt]

Inside that huge mansion. Poor people lol

[Whooshta]

Hard for me to feel bad about their mansion.

[capatga]

No water for the second day in Dallas. No warning .

[missyv]

Omg! People like the mattress store owner make my day and restore my hope in humanity that we'll see the direction we can't ignore!

[lynnesmith]

Why do businesses have power? But residences don't.

[starofthehighestpowers]

Get some bonfire going and gather around it and close to it have a barbecue grill to boil water. Wrap yourselves with tarp and keep your feet and head dry and as warm as possible. My heart goes out to everyone especially to the children, the sick and the elderly.

[hlsot]

ALL this people who MOVED to Texas from California, New York 🤦
Bad choice 🤒

[SuperNovaBones]

My apartment has been 34F - 40F for 3 days now, no power or water

[Khmer-cuow]

My prayers to you all. Stay safe. This is insane.

[Genrick]

I can imagine a bunch of Texans trying to illegally cross into Mexico to escape the cold

[shamickawhite]

Jim is such a angle, God bless him ❤️

[mollyg]

I pray for my family & everyone effected in Houston

[jbcali]

Transplants are moving back to California lol