Texas jails and prisons see brutal cold and overfilled toilets in winter storm
Power and water outages have also hit many Texas lockups. Inmates have feared for their safety and officers were kept at their job for days. Full Story
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![A jail officer stands guard inside her pit in a female detention area of the Dawson State Jail in Dallas on July 31, 2013.]()
Credit: Brandon Thibodeaux for The Texas Tribune -
You might have heard that Texas has its own power grid. Did you know not all parts of the state use it?
Millions of Texans were left in the dark for days after winter storms triggered power outages. But people in El Paso, the upper Panhandle and parts of East Texas kept their lights on — thanks to power drawn from other parts of the country. Full Story
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![El Paso Electric's Rio Grande Power Station on the New Mexico, Texas state line in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Feb. 17, 2021]()
Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune -
Thousands of Texans depend on dialysis treatments. Extended power outages put their lives at risk.
Dialysis patients need treatments for hours at a time, multiple times a week. Power and water outages forced local centers to shut down. Full Story
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![Fresenius Kidney Care South Price in Austin on Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas’ power grid is stabilizing, but more than 300,000 remain without electricity
Many people in the state still do not have power, and millions have had their water service disrupted. Full Story
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![Jacob Duran warms his hands over a grill after his apartment lost power due to the severe winter storm that hit the state. Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Texas power outages: Nearly half the state experiencing water disruptions as power grid operator says it's making progress
We’re tracking the fallout from the massive winter storm in Texas, which has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems. Full Story
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![Jennifer Vega waits in line at an H-E-B to refill a propane tank on Feb. 18, 2021.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
Hospitals in Austin are running out of water, forcing some to transfer patients
St. David’s South Austin Medical Center said a series of problems began after it lost water pressure from the city Wednesday. Seton hospitals in the area are also facing water problems. Full Story
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![The Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas in Austin on Feb. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders failed to heed warnings that left the state's power grid vulnerable to winter extremes, experts say
Texas officials knew winter storms could leave the state’s power grid vulnerable, but they left the choice to prepare for harsh weather up to the power companies — many of which opted against the costly upgrades. That, plus a deregulated energy market largely isolated from the rest of the country’s power grid, left the state alone to deal with the crisis, experts said. Full Story
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![Powerline infrastructure in San Marcos on Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans blamed green energy for Texas’ power woes. But the state runs on fossil fuels.
Green energy has been a political punching bag for Texas Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbott throughout the winter storm. Experts say that politicians never take responsibility for natural disasters when it comes to preparedness. Full Story
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![A working pump jack on the Cline Shale sits among wind turbines that cover the landscape off FM 153 south of Sweetwater.]()
Credit: Mark Graham for The Texas Tribune -
Texas power outages: Officials warn of low water supply; nearly 3 million households without electricity
We’re tracking the fallout from the massive winter storm in Texas, which has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems. Full Story
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![A temporary stop sign at the intersection of Greenville and Ross Avenues in Dallas. Several neighborhoods lost power due to a winter storm that hit the state.]()
Credit: Ben Torres for The Texas Tribune -
No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages
Lost wind power was expected to be a fraction of winter generation. All sources — from natural gas, to nuclear, to coal, to solar — have struggled to generate power during the storm that has left millions of Texans in the dark. Full Story
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![A wind farm in Harrold. March 19, 2018.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. It wasn’t ready for the extreme cold.
Texas largely relies on natural gas — especially during times of high demand — to power the state. Experts say natural gas infrastructure, from pumping it out of the ground to the plants in city centers, was unprepared for the plunging temperatures brought by the winter storm. 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 -
How to help and get help in Texas as the winter storm causes power outages
Local organizations are providing warming shelters and resources, while nonprofits are asking for donations and volunteers. Full Story
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Gov. Greg Abbott, other top Texas officials call for resignations and investigations at electrical grid operator
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement. Full Story
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![A utility structure is encased in ice on Feb. 15, 2021, in Houston. A rare snowfall blanketed the city as well as other parts of Texas.]()
Credit: May-Ying Lam for The Texas Tribune -
Photos: Texans face an ice storm that's left millions of people without power
An arctic blast barreled though Texas over Valentines Day weekend. Temperatures plummeted and ice and snow blanketed the entire state, leaving millions of people without electricity. Texas Tribune photographers fanned out across the state to record the historic cold snap. Here's what they saw. Full Story
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![An eastbound view of East Stassney Lane in South Austin on Feb. 15, 2021. A major winter storm affected the entire state.]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
“Crisis upon crisis”: Industrial pollutants leave San Angelo residents without water as winter storm bears down
In some areas of the West Texas city, the state found concentrations of benzene, a known carcinogen, to be 35 times the safe limit. For other chemicals identified in the water, no concentration is considered safe. Full Story
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![Amber Campos moves a pallet of bottled water from a semi-trailer truck at the loading dock of the H-E-B grocery store at in San Angelo on Feb. 9, 2021.]()
Credit: Colin Murphey/San Angelo Standard-Times via REUTERS -
Texas House Democrats launch climate, environment caucus with one goal: Talk about climate change in the Legislature
The climate, environment and energy caucus aims to start a conversation in the Legislature on how Texas can prepare for climate change and take advantage of the transition to cleaner energy sources. Full Story
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![Jeremy Boutor removes personal items on an air mattress from his home in a neighborhood along Eldridge Parkway, flooded by waters released from Addicks Reservoir on Aug. 30, 2017, adding to from Hurricane Harvey.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
West Texas is on track to get even more nuclear waste — thanks to the federal government
A hazardous waste disposal company in Andrews County wants to handle more dangerous levels of nuclear waste. Federal agencies are pondering new rules that could allow more of it to come to Texas. Full Story
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![The entrance to the Waste Control Specialists site where radioactive and hazardous waste is being stored on Jan. 17, 2021.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman for The Texas Tribune -
Oil and gas cleanups are on Biden’s agenda. Will Texas embrace it?
Some areas of Texas could benefit from Biden’s federal directive to accelerate cleanups of legacy oil and gas, mining and hazardous waste contamination. Full Story
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![Brackish water flows from an unplugged abandoned well outside Imperial in Pecos County — one of several in the area likely drilled for oil but later tapped for water.]()
Credit: Rafael Aguilera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas prepares to test for lead in schools’ drinking water for the first time
An updated EPA rule requires drinking water in elementary schools be tested for lead and copper — a mandate that emerged from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis. Full Story
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![Water fountains at Northside ISD in San Antonio on Aug. 11, 2020.]()
Credit: Allie Goulding/The Texas Tribune -
Biden to place environmental justice at center of sweeping climate plan
The president has directed federal agencies to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution. Full Story
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune
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