Blackouts and cold in Texas: what’s going on?

Unprecedented snowfall and record cold temperatures have been harming the cities and plains normally adverse to the Texas winter since Sunday. Changes in the jet stream drove Arctic air over the US-Canada border to the US-Mexico border. Dallas was colder than Anchorage, with temperatures turning around -2 degrees, and cities like McAllen along the border – in the 1970s at this time last year – were in their 30s. A winter storm alert has been issued for all 254 counties in Texas. Dallas-Fort Worth saw more than 7 inches of snow, the first time the area has had more than an inch of snow in six years. Parts of Travis County, where Austin is located, have seen nearly 20 centimeters. San Angelo saw 10. The cold and snow have wreaked havoc in a state that is largely unequipped to deal with them.

Freezing temperatures increased energy demands beyond what the state could supply, and by Tuesday morning, more than 4 million in Texas were without energy (and heat) Texas power grid, operated by the Texas Electric Reliability Council, is unlike any other place in the country, then most of Texas cannot import energy from neighboring states, as would otherwise be standard practice. Just producing more energy is not an option, as instruments in nuclear, gas and coal facilities froze and plants had to be shut down. ERCOT began producing blackouts, purposefully shutting off power in the neighborhood to ensure that no area was without power for a long time, but outages scheduled to last minutes turned into hours.

The Texas storm – and its resulting blackout – also enveloped the state in ice hell. There were 100 car accidents on San Antonio’s slippery roads in one night. The Houston Chronicle interrupted its printing and delivery services, which continued even during Hurricane Harvey. HEB, the largest supermarket chain in the state, closed its doors in major cities and fast-food restaurants also closed their doors. Frozen water pipes and frozen water treatment plants have left people without access to water or any safe enough to drink. Power outages and backup generator failure forced Harris County public health officials on a midnight mission to deliver 8,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine before it went bad. An additional 400,000 doses of vaccine, scheduled for delivery this week, have been postponed. Emergency personnel in Austin answered eight toxic exposure calls in seven hours, while people desperate for heat slept in garages with their cars running. Several people died of cold.

The National Guard and state officials were dispatched to transport people to heating centers, 135 of which were installed across the state. On Sunday, Biden declared a federal state of emergency, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to channel money and resources to Texas. ERCOT said on Tuesday afternoon, which restored power to nearly half a million households, although more than 3 million still remain without it. The same storm system also froze large portions of the South and Midwest and brought a deadly tornado to North Caroline. New storms are expected to reach the state with freezing rain and snow by Thursday, with high temperatures on Friday morning.

Frustrated Texans are looking for a scapegoat for widespread failures. Governor Greg Abbott changed the guilt of himself, arguing that there was no way to prepare: This is the coldest climate the state has seen in 100 years. Politicians used this storm as fodder in the energy debate. Texan Republicans praised fossil fuels for keeping them warm, while Democrats cited claims by experts that most of the blackout came from thermal energy sources. Dade Phelan, president of the state of Texas House, called for a hearing on blackouts and on Tuesday, Abbott named the ERCOT reform as an emergency action item for the legislative session. Climate change can also be blamed for the intensity of the storm and the power outages – and it has shown what lies ahead.