Deep Freeze Brings Power Outage To Much Of Texas

February 15, 2021 News, Weather

As of 6:30 a.m., there are 1,834,260 customers without power in Texas due to the winter storm and state officials have warned that number could get higher. ERCOT, the energy provider in Texas, entered its highest alert level overnight and has begun rolling blackouts to conserve power during this harsh winter storm.

Texas told residents they should conserve power due to frozen turbines and equipment. As of 6 p.m., a little less than half of all its installments were frozen or unable to operate due to the extreme cold, according to ABC Dallas affiliate WFAA.

According to the National Weather Service, many parts of the state will experience “dangerously cold” temperatures Sunday night and into Monday when there will be “widespread wind chills” of -10 to -20 degrees.

ERCOT calls for rotating outages as extreme winter weather forces generating units offline. “Every grid operator and every electric company is fighting to restore power right now,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness. https://t.co/rKoWcBZSew

— ERCOT (@ERCOT_ISO) February 15, 2021

Tips for rolling power outages happening around the state of Texas now: Unplug all unnecessary appliances. Do not run laundry/dishwasher. Place towels in door and window cracks and keep blinds closed to keep heat in. Dress in layers inside. PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!

— The New 93Q (@TheNew93Q) February 15, 2021

Pres. Biden approves Texas emergency disaster proclamation as major winter storm batters parts of the country.

The declaration orders federal assistance to supplement state and local storm response efforts, according to a statement from the White House. https://t.co/SpEgy3fD2V

— ABC News (@ABC) February 15, 2021

AND IT ISN’T A SMALL BLACKOUT: huge drop in load on Texas ERCOT grid in a short period, with load plunging in minutes from ~65 GW to ~53GW. Judging by the size of the loss of grid load, millions of people are affected by the rolling blackout | #TexasFreeze #TexasBlackout pic.twitter.com/4Z9ttCRNRK

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) February 15, 2021