Power-sharing, McCaul acknowledged, “would [also] have been helpful. We could have shared with other electricity grids. “
He described a 2011 report from the state legislature containing recommendations “to winterize our operations,” which was never properly implemented. “We’re going to look at that to get ahead,” he said, “so this will never happen again.”
“The difference between Texas and, say, the Northeast, is we’re not prepared for this,” McCaul continued. “We are not used to this kind of weather.” The grid “was not winterized for freezing temperatures.”
“Everything that happened in the past week was foreseeable and preventable,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who served in the state legislature in 2011 and introduced a bill that would winterize the network, told CBS News. Face the Nation on Sunday. .
To make matters worse, many residents also faced historically high utility bills due to the extreme weather – which McCaul said will help federal funds pay back customers.
An emergency disaster statement from President Joe Biden “is getting some help from the federal government, which is what Texans need so badly now,” McCaul said. “The current plans with federal aid are to help homeowners” not only fix their homes, but “pay their electricity bills.”
When asked if the idea of using federal funds to pay for the fallout from the failure of a state-run network was “ a little rich, ” McCaul threw himself out.
“Here’s the deal, that’s that [it happened] because we are not winterized, “he said.” We need to move forward vigorously and make the investment that they have not made in the past “by implementing the recommendations of the 2011 report.
Climate change, McCaul said, “is real.” The question “is how to deal with it”.
He called for “a Manhattan-style clean energy project,” referring to the Manhattan project with which the United States developed the atomic bomb in World War II.
When asked about the views of Democrats, who in some cases did more than Republicans to help the GOP-controlled state, McCaul was complimentary.
“It’s great that they are crossing party lines to help Americans first and not just Republicans and Democrats,” McCaul said of the efforts of the former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) to assist. Texans hit by the storm. “That’s what it should be like.”
“If a crisis hits my condition, I’m there. I’m not going on vacation,” McCaul continued. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) decision to fly to Mexico mid-week for a spontaneous vacation “was a big mistake.”