Texas had a severe winter in 2021.
In mid-February, with temperatures dropping to single digits, demand for electricity reached a record high across Texas. Supply was short, causing the state grid operator to implement continuous power cuts. At the height of the crisis, more than 4.5 million customers lost energy. The terrible winter storm caused neighboring states like Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas to also impose continuous blackouts.
Texas residents were shivering because the interruptions lasted for days at a time. They lost access to water. Some resorted to starting cars in garages to keep warm and died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The historic collapse was a warning sign – if the power grid in Texas was so fragile, what about the rest of the United States? The United States has faced a 67% increase in climate-related energy outages since 2000, according to data from Climate Central. Part of the problem is an obsolete infrastructure. Most of today’s electricity grid was built in the 1950s and 60s, with the hope that it would last 50 years.
Watch the video above to find out what happened to the Texas power outage and how this is a warning sign for the US grid.