Millions of people in Texas have spent days in sub-zero temperatures without power, in what the authorities have called a “total failure” of the state’s electricity infrastructure. How did Texas, rich in oil and gas – America’s largest energy producer – get here?
While there are many factors that have led to power outages in Texas, the state’s power grid is under intense scrutiny in the light of the storm. Here’s what we know so far about the Texas power grid and the role it played in the state’s winter disaster.
Who controls the Texas power grid?
The “Lone Star” state likes to walk alone when it comes to supplying energy to its residents. Texas is the only one among the 48 contiguous American states, as it depends on its own power grid. The other 47 states are part of the two energy networks that serve the eastern and western halves of the country.
The Texas Electric Reliability Council, known as Ercot, manages the state’s electrical grid. Ercot is technically a nonprofit corporation and, while operating independently from the state government, the corporation is overseen by a state agency called the Texas Public Service Commission. Committee members are appointed by the state governor.
Texas is the only state in the country, apart from Alaska and Hawaii, which is not part of Eastern Interconnection or Western Interconnection, the two main energy networks in the United States. This means that Texas is not regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc), the agency that oversees interstate electrical transmission. Instead, Texas is basically “an electric island in the United States”, as described by Bill Magness, CEO of Ercot. While this means that Texas has more control over electricity in the state, it also means that there are fewer plants that the state can count on for energy.
Parts of Texas are not serviced by Ercot. El Paso, in the far west of the state, draws power from the Western Interconnection, which is why the city has been saved from the more brutal effects of power cuts.
Why are so many people without power?
Ercot turned off the power to millions of customers after several plants were closed due to the sub-zero temperatures the state is experiencing. Ercot officials said the equipment at the factories could not withstand extreme and low temperatures. The choice was to turn off the power to customers or risk a network breakdown.
Why is Texas on its own power grid?
Since electricity existed in Texas, the state, which prides itself on its independence, has relied on itself for energy. State officials have long had a stubborn desire to stay out of the hands of federal regulators.
While Magness, CEO of Ercot, said the shutdown was mainly due to “reasons that have to do with the weather”, critics said the Texas energy market encourages cheap prices at the cost of delaying maintenance and improving plants. In 2011, the state experienced similar blackouts, although for a shorter period of time compared to what was seen this week.
After these blackouts, the Ferc gave Ercot a series of recommendations to avoid future blackouts, including increasing reserve levels and weather protection to protect them from the cold.
Ed Hirs, an energy scholar at the University of Houston, told the Washington Post that Ercot “hobbled with underinvestment and neglect until it finally broke down under predictable circumstances.”
Did renewable energy play a role in the network’s malfunction?
While Republicans blamed frozen wind turbines for state blackouts, officials and experts say the malfunctioning of natural gas operations played a major role in the energy crisis.
Ercot said all of its energy sources, including those from renewable sources, were affected by freezing temperatures. The state relies largely on natural gas for its energy supply, although part comes from wind turbines and less from coal and nuclear sources.
Natural gas can withstand the state’s high temperatures in summer, but the extreme cold makes it difficult for gas to flow to power plants and heating houses. Michael Webber, professor of energy resources at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Texas Tribune that “the gas is failing in the most spectacular way right now.”
With the climate crisis likely to trigger more abnormal weather events like the one Texas is experiencing, it is notable that there are places that experience an extremely cold climate that rely heavily on wind turbines and manage to have electricity in the winter. In Iowa, a state that has freezing temperatures more often than Texas, almost 40% of electricity is generated by wind turbines.
What are the authorities doing to prevent future blackouts?
With millions of people still without power as of last Wednesday, Texas officials remain focused on returning power to residents and repairing the storm’s damage. Politicians from both major parties criticized Ercot for his way of dealing with the storm, but officials avoided providing examples of specific solutions. Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for an investigation into Ercot, declaring it an emergency item for the state’s legislative session.
But some Texas leaders have made it clear that they believe that Texas should remain independent of national power grids. Rick Perry, a former state governor who also served as Donald Trump’s energy secretary until 2019, said: “Texans would be without electricity for more than three days to keep the federal government out of their business.”