(HorizonPost.com) – In February, over 4.5 million homes went without power in Texas when a winter storm caught the state by surprise. The outage resulted in over 55 deaths and nearly $200 billion in damages. On November 19, the nation’s grid monitor said power blackouts might happen again this year and leave millions to freeze with no heat for days.
Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) seems to think the lights will stay on this winter, but energy experts aren’t so sure.
Texas is still at risk of power blackouts this winter in the event of extreme weather like the catastrophic February storm that buckled the state’s electrical grid and left millions of people without heat for days, the nation’s grid monitor said. | @AP https://t.co/xgTfT5E3TZ
— KERA News (@keranews) November 19, 2021
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) said they couldn’t rule out the possibility of a widespread blackout if extreme weather continues to hit the Lone Star state. In fact, its projections show almost a 40% shortfall in power for many areas in Texas, and the group has major concerns.
Lawmakers overseeing that part of the country reportedly called for improvements to the grid following last winter’s deadly power fail. In response, the University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute created a committee to analyze the data from February’s blackout to develop ideas to improve and better operate the power grid.
In June, the governor signed two bills to reform the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and enhance the power system to withstand extreme weather. Hopefully, it’ll be enough to keep Texans safe going forward. In the meantime, residents must stay vigilant and ensure the improvements happen before the storms hit — and prepare regardless.
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