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Calling it “anything but reliable,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered an investigation into the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) amid power outages across the state in freezing temperatures.
“Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and harsh winter conditions. This is unacceptable,” Abbott wrote in a statement.
“I issued an executive order to review ERCOT’s preparations and decisions so that we can determine what caused this problem and find long-term solutions.”
ERCOT faces fire over its management of the state’s electricity grid after 4.1 million people were left without power amid record snow and sub-zero temperatures. Some had been without electricity for more than 24 hours after the plants were shut down on Monday. The blackouts also shut down water treatment plants, and hundreds of thousands of people were told to boil water before using it.
TEXAS STRIKES WITH MASSIVE POWER FAILURES AS WINTER FREEZE LEAVES OVER 4 MILLION IN THE DARK
The scarce arctic air that blew into Texas resulted in a record demand for electricity, causing the state’s electrical system to fail. Energy providers were planning to use continual blackouts to keep up with demand, but the system was overwhelmed.
Expectations that blackouts would be shared evenly for 10 to 15 minutes at a time by the state’s 30 million residents quickly gave way to a cold reality, as pockets in some of America’s largest cities, including San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, were left to bear the lasting brunt of a catastrophic power outage and sub-freezing conditions that grid operators in Texas knew were coming.
On Monday evening, ERCOT asked utilities such as Oncor to cut more power instead of the expected restorations.
Oncor issued a statement saying it could not cope with the blackouts Monday night due to “poor grid condition” and warned residents to be prepared for “long stretches without power.”
“At this time, ERCOT is unable to predict when grid conditions will stabilize, and urges all customers to prepare for continued extended outages,” the statement continued.
“We had to step in and make sure we weren’t going to end up with Texas in a blackout, which could happen without people without power – not just some people without power but everyone in our area without power – for many, far longer than we think this event is going to last, as long and as difficult as this event is right now, ”said ERCOT CEO Bill Magness.
At least 10 deaths have been reported in light of the storm and resulting power outages. Freezer weather is expected to hit the state on Wednesday and some areas will see more snow.
WINTER WEATHER DEATHS INCREASES IN U.S. AS TORNADO SLAMS NORTH CAROLINA
State Representative Gene Wu said ERCOT told lawmakers he knew last week that controlled outages would be needed, but ERCOT did not notify the public until Sunday.
Magness agreed with the need for a “meaningful review” of the power outages.
“What we have seen this week is an unprecedented historic weather event,” said Magness. “There will be and there should be a meaningful examination of this event.”
Thirty-five heated shelters have been opened to accommodate more than 1,000 people statewide, FEMA said at a briefing. But even they were not spared from the blackouts, as Houston was forced to shut down two on Monday due to a loss of power.
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