Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) is under intense scrutiny about how to deal with the state’s massive power outages caused by harsh winter weather conditions, as it prepares to run for reelection next year following two major disasters.
State Democratic Party chairman Gilberto Hinojosa accused Abbott of “making politics with alternative energy sources” in a statement on Monday, saying that while residents of Lone Star State struggle, the governor “continues to relax and wait ”.
Julián Castro, the former Democratic mayor of San Antonio and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for former President Obama, tweeted that Abbott “was not prepared for this storm, was too slow to respond and now blames everyone but himself for this mess. “
Millions of Texas residents were left without power because the state experienced an exceptionally cold climate, with several areas registering temperatures in the single digits. And forecasts show cooler down the road.
Virtually the entire city of Galveston has been cut off without power since Monday morning, and neighboring Houston is also being hit hard by interruptions. Social media is full of Texans describing struggles to keep medical equipment running, unsuccessful attempts to find available hotel rooms, and frustration at not knowing when the lights – and heating – will come back. Some areas also had limited water supply or irregular cell coverage due to power outages.
The emergency comes as Abbott prepares to run for his third term as governor. A University of Houston poll released earlier this month showed he had 39% approval. President biden
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Democrats have long been working to create a “blue wave” in Texas in hopes of turning the state traditionally red, but their efforts have failed. Still, Democrats in the state have seen progress in recent years. President Biden lost his state to the former President Trump
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Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonSullivan is the “listener” to Biden’s national security. Trump’s lawyers center defense around attacks on Democrats LIVE COVERAGE: The trial ends as the Senate decides to vote MOREloss of 9 points to Trump in 2016. And former deputy Beto O’Rourke (D) was just a few points away from overthrowing Sen. Ted Cruz
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Hinojosa said that the way Abbott handled power outages in the winter, along with what critics say Abbott’s failed response to coronavirus, could put Democrats on edge by 2022.
“We are going to hang all these things around his neck because people need to be reminded of how horrible he has been as governor,” said Hinojosa.
The Hill contacted Abbott’s office for comment.
The governor is taking a series of measures to tackle the crisis, including sending the state National Guard in an effort to help relocate vulnerable people, including the elderly, to shelters.
And he blamed the blame on the Texas Electric Reliability Council (ERCOT) on Tuesday, asking state lawmakers to initiate an investigation into the council.
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable for the past 48 hours,” said Abbott. “This is unacceptable. Reviewing ERCOT’s preparations and decisions is an emergency item so that we can have a complete picture of what caused this problem and find long-term solutions.”
The disruptions this week could be related to deregulation, as well as Texas being the only one to have a power grid contained in the state, cutting off aid from other parts of the country when there is a power outage or power outage. In addition, many plants are not equipped to operate in such low temperatures.
“Texas is practically an island of electric power, you can’t get more when you need to, and that’s on purpose, so Texas sets the rules for how Texas operates,” said Robert Cullick, former Austin utility executive Energy. The Hill Tuesday.
Cullick, speaking of his home in central Texas, which has been without power for the past two days, said Abbott’s promise to take a look at the power system was overdue.
“Who is responsible for ensuring that there is enough capacity to serve enough customers in the state? Likewise, it is ERCOT … but not in the same way it used to be before the 1990s, when utilities could be fined for failing to supply electricity they said they would supply, ”said Cullick.
“The state had a few times to review this and decided each time that it did not want to pay for each concessionaire to be able to serve,” he noted.
Texas residents have received mixed messages from ERCOT and other private companies.
Margaret Bentley, a Texas native, told The Hill on Tuesday that she had just recovered energy at her home in western Texas in Alpine after being without it for two days, during which her water heater exploded. and the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees inside.
“Customers were asked to reduce unnecessary electrical usage as much as possible,” said Bentley. “Interruptions should have been ‘continuous blackouts’ and I was prepared for an interruption of maybe five hours or more, but I never imagined that we would be without power for more than 48 hours and the temperature would remain well below zero for most of the time. “
“I have no idea how the elderly or people who were sick or with oxygen or struggling with COVID could have done,” she added.
ERCOT’s senior director of system operations said the board was optimistic about reducing the number of outages throughout the day, while the Texas energy group Oncor tweeted that ERCOT was “unable to predict when grid conditions would change. will stabilize “and asked customers to prepare for prolonged outages.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) has called on the House’s State Affairs and Energy Resources committees to meet for a joint hearing next week to examine the factors that have led to widespread power cuts.
Other politicians in the state have also called for an investigation into ERCOT, including San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, whose own house was without power on Tuesday.
As a result of state leadership on the issue, local leaders often have their hands tied on issues related to power, such as “progressive disruptions” that often impact the state during the suffocating summer months.
A spokesman for the mayor of Dallas Eric JohnsonEric Johnson, Dallas Mayor, proclaiming September 29, Botham Jean’s birthday, ‘#BeLikeBo Day’ MORE (D) told The Hill that ERCOT did not provide the office with updates on the situation, and while Johnson was working to open district heating centers, there was little he could do to restore energy.
“We don’t have a municipal concessionaire. … All these things are out of our hands. Some people have asked the mayor to turn the power back on; we don’t have that ability, ”said the spokesman.
Austin Mayor Steve Adler (D) called for “systemic changes” as a result of the crisis.
“So many cold and powerless, people in danger and all frustrated, including me,” said Adler in a statement provided to The Hill. “ERCOT has to explain how millions of Texans are without power. “Continuous” interruptions are not that. There has to be systemic changes. This is happening every ten years and there must be a better plan. “
Despite the reaction against ERCOT, Democrats say Abbott is ultimately responsible for not taking action to prepare the state for a major climate emergency.
“We have a state grid that has collapsed as a result of the fact that the state’s power system, the power system has been deregulated over the years, and there has not been enough money invested in the system to maintain and improve the plants,” said Hinojosa.
And Rep. Joaquin Castro
Joaquin CastroKey Republican Party Senators question when Trump learned that the Capitol was violated by Democrats showing videos of the Trump team: ‘False equivalence’ LIVE COVERAGE: The trial ends today while the Senate decides to vote MORE (D-Texas) tweeted that Abbott “is the person who let things get so bad”.