In Texas, a winter storm can cause power outages

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Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster statement Friday afternoon for every county in Texas as a massive winter storm threatens to devastate the state’s power grid, power lines and roads.

“Texas must follow the lead of their local leaders and stay alert to changing weather conditions in their area,” Abbott said in a press release.

The state’s power grid could see Texans trying to keep warm in winter this weekend. That means that the capacity of the Texas power grid, which is largely managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, will be put to the test. It is unclear whether this will result in rolling Texas power outages or “rotating outages,” as ERCOT calls system power outages.

“We’ve got really severe stress here for maybe seven days,” said Ed Hirs, an energy economist at the University of Houston.

Abbott’s order comes after the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or watches for most of the state. Freezing weather is expected to last all weekend and until Monday evening. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Central Texas areas could see light 3- to 6-inch ice and snow accumulations, according to a warning.

Some areas have already experienced power outages or icy roads. In Fort Worth, more than 130 vehicles were involved in a deadly highway traffic jam on Thursday.

The North Texas warning said the wind chill is expected to drop to minus 15 degrees. The service is also predicting record-low, single-digit temperatures across much of Texas in the coming days. Tuesday’s forecast of 6 degrees in Austin would be the coldest low since December 1989, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

“Travel will be dangerous,” the National Weather Service warning said. “Dangerous conditions will last for several days given the expected prolonged duration of extremely cold temperatures. The chills as low as 15 below zero can lead to hypothermia if precautions are not taken. “

In the statement, Abbott wrote that the weather would pose an “imminent threat” of property damage, injury and loss of life from freezing temperatures, snow and rain.

Abbott commissioned the Texas Division of Emergency Management to deploy a variety of state resources, including through the Texas Department of Transportation to prepare roads, the Texas Highway Patrol to assist stranded drivers, and the Public Utility Commission to prevent power outages. to monitor and report.

Grid regulators expect electricity demand for the next few days to remain just below the record demand typically seen in the summer, when Texans turn on their air conditioning to cool. But the Texas electricity market is set up for summer electricity demand. It’s not set for winter, experts say.

Additional generators – such as natural gas power plants – are in operation to support increased power demand during the Texas heat.

Some of those energy sources are offline during the winter, when electricity demand usually doesn’t rival that of the summer months, according to energy economist Hirs. And freezing temperatures have left many wind farms inactive, as operators have to deal with idling icy blades.

ERCOT spokeswoman Leslie Sopko urged Texans to follow the agency’s twitter page and website for updates on the state of the net.

Companies that supply wholesale energy to households and businesses are bracing for emergencies. They keep crews stationed in the state over the weekend, while the crews would normally return home instead.

The Texas branch of American Electric Power, called AEP Texas, provides power to more than 1 million Texas homes and businesses in southern and west Texas. Larry Jones, a company spokesman in Austin, said rolling blackouts are a last resort designated by ERCOT.

“We would cause rotating outages in parts of our service area,” Jones said Friday. “They can last from 45 minutes to an hour. You can alternate them to minimize the impact on customers. “

When an outage occurs, Jones says, AEP Texas typically tells customers to turn off major electronic devices in their homes, such as washing machines and heating and ventilation units.

“This will show people the difference between a cold snap and a cold snap,” Andrew Barlow, director of external affairs for the Texas Public Utility Commission, an agency that oversees ERCOT, said of the coming weather. “Texans are used to our normal, mild winter weather – a day below freezing, maybe a layer of snow, some ice. But the weather models show this thing can linger for two or three days. That will take you from a breeze to a spell. “

Correction, Feb. 12, 2021: Due to an error by Reuters, an earlier caption for the photo in this story misrepresented where the photo was taken. It shows Corpus Christi, not Robstown.