The 2021 winter storm caught Texans by surprise. Here’s how to prepare this year.
With the height of the winter season approaching, here are some tips to prepare an emergency kit, protect your home and stay informed. Full Story
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![Customers look through nearly empty shelves of produce inside a Central Market grocery store in North Austin on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott intervened to put a positive spin on Texas' power grid
He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. Full Story
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![Snow at the Capitol in Austin on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
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Analysis: Betting a Texas election on a weather forecast
Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll. Full Story
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![Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that rolled through Texas. Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas grid vulnerable to blackouts during severe winter weather, even with new preparations, ERCOT estimates show
The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February. Full Story
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![Snow surrounds an Austin Energy station in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.]()
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Analysis: 2022 primary elections in Texas merit a severe weather alert
Next year’s primary elections start a year after a winter storm knocked out power across Texas — and the government response to that disaster could be on voters’ minds. Full Story
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![The Blanco Vista neighborhood of San Marcos is blanketed with several inches of snow as a massive winter weather system causes power outages across Texas on Feb. 15, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Power companies required to better prepare plants for winter in first phase of rule approved by Texas regulators
The state Public Utility Commission adopted a rule — which experts first recommended a decade ago following a winter storm — requiring power companies to use “best efforts” to ensure plants can operate in the winter. Full Story
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![Construction underway for Alamo I, a 41-megawatt solar farm being built by OCI Solar Power for its customer CPS Energy in San Antonio.]()
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Oil industry helped handpick members of Texas advisory group for electric grid reliability, emails show
Oil and gas industry groups provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission for appointment to a council formed in response to the February power crisis. All four of the industry's top choices were selected. Full Story
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![Smoke from a power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.]()
Credit: Sophie Park/The Texas Tribune -
Texas regulators want to prepare the state’s electricity grid for extreme weather. But that’s a moving target in a warming world.
The state plans to use past weather data to craft rules for power plant upgrades. Scientists warn that the accelerating effects of climate change make relying on old data alone insufficient. Full Story
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![Executive director and Vice President of DMA Properties Sergio Amaya clears the walkways outside of the Rebekah Baines Johnson Center in Austin on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Montinique Monroe for The Texas Tribune -
Texans not expected to lose power through the rest of the summer, regulators say
The state’s electricity regulators said they’re taking steps to assure a skeptical public that the power won’t go out again if Texas experiences extreme weather this summer. Full Story
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Officials in charge of Texas' power grid try to reassure lawmakers and the public that they're fixing lingering problems
Lawmakers cannot pass laws to improve Texas’ power grid during the special legislative session. They’re discussing it anyway. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
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ERCOT will have to release information about power plant outages quicker — but it may not detail what causes them
The Public Utility Commission said the state's main power grid operator will have three days — instead of 60 — to release some information about power plant outages. But that may not include why the electricity generators were offline. Full Story
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Gov. Greg Abbott says power grid better than ever as Texans asked to cut back electricity use
A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why. Full Story
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![Details of electrical transformers at the Austin Energy/Sand Hill Energy Center
in Del Valle on March 24, 2020.]()
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Analysis: The Texas electric grid and the improvements that didn’t come
Texas lawmakers passed major bills in response to the winter storm power outages that killed hundreds of Texans in February. But there’s still a lot to do. Full Story
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Everyday Texans overlooked in state lawmakers' response to power outages during winter storm
While lawmakers took significant steps toward preventing another blackout, hardly any of the proposals passed during this legislative session will aid consumers in recovering from the February storm — but they’ll see higher utility bills. Full Story
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![The Decker Creek Power Station, a natural gas power plant northeast of Austin on February 28, 2021.]()
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Texas Legislature close to approving billions to pay for winter storm financial fallout
Several billions of dollars in state-approved financing will be necessary to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market after the winter storm. Texas approves more in finance bailouts for its utilities than any other state. Full Story
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![Electrical workers repair a power line in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021. Many Texas residents are still without power, and many don't have clean drinking water or working water at all.]()
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Texas House goes further than Senate to protect state’s main power grid as time to agree on bills winds down
The Texas House for hours on Sunday debated its proposal to better prepare for extreme weather. The chambers have a little more than a week to wrap up remaining work. Full Story
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Texas Legislature approves bill to ban residential wholesale electricity plans — the first major winter storm bill sent to the governor
Time is running out on a slate of other bills lawmakers are considering that stem from February's deadly winter storm. Full Story
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![Lisa Chumley, a second-grade teacher in Dallas, received a bill of over $11,000 from Griddy for less of a week of electricity. Griddy charged $9 per kilowatt through the days of the winter storm, leaving many Texans with extremely high charges.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Overhaul of ERCOT board could replace experts with political appointees
State lawmakers are now trying to change the way ERCOT is governed by requiring members to live in Texas and giving more board seats to political appointees — changes that experts say may do little to improve the power grid. Full Story
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![An aerial view of Austin after a severe snowstorm dumped heavy snow and plummeted temperatures. Feb. 17, 2021.]()
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Texas House targets power grid flaw that cut electricity to natural gas facilities and worsened February blackouts
The lower chamber gave initial approval Monday to a series of bills responding to this year’s catastrophic power outages during a deadly winter storm. Full Story
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![A mobile home park is covered with snow as a massive winter storm continues to engulf Texas, causing widespread power and water outages across the state. Feb 17, 2021.]()
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ERCOT asked Texans to conserve power as electric grid again struggled to keep up with demand
A higher than expected amount of plant outages for maintenance created tight conditions for Texas' power grid. It returned to normal late Tuesday evening. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) command center in Taylor in 2012.]()
Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson
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