TEXAS, USA — Governor Greg Abbott said state agencies will be working "collaboratively and around the clock" in response to the front of artic air coming to Texas this week.
Wednesday morning, Abbott held a press conference to reassure the public that the power grid would remain strong though the week and into next week.
"With the ultra cold temperature for several days, there are many people in the State of Texas that may be concerned about the power grid. We want to make sure that everybody across the Texas hears from the head of the Public Utilities Commission, as will as the head of ERCOT, to know exactly...how the power grid will stay up and running," Abbott said.
Texans haven't forgotten the catastrophic blackouts caused by winter storm Uri in 2021 when millions were left without power across the state and some even died from carbon monoxide poising in an attempt to stay warm.
Public Utility Commission Chairman Peter Lake said the Texas power grid would have enough power to meet demand "throughout the entire weather event."
Lake said the power grid endured a shorter winter storm in February of this year and endured the brutally hot summer without any power interruptions. He said the changes made to the grid have succeeded in increasing reliability.
"These landmark reforms include weatherization of infrastructure including generators (power plants), poles and wires. We have more power available than ever before. We have more backup fuel. We've mapped the critical interactions between our natural gas system and our power generators," Lake said.
Lake also said they are working with businesses to be ready to turn off power in an emergency to further reduce any chance of homeowners being affected by any outages.
Of course, the grid's ability to keep the power on is ultimately dependent on how much power it has available. ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas told ERCOT board members yesterday their organization is forecasting a peak power demand of 68,286 megawatts on Friday at 10:00 a.m. He rounded that total up to 70,000 megawatts when speaking to reporters Wednesday morning.
At the same time, Vegas believes ERCOT will have up to 93,578 MW available to cover that demand.
The state's grid is establishing a better track record for reliability. In February of 2022 the state was able to meet a demand around 64,000 MW when another winter storm hit the northern and central part of the state. The grid was then able to handle a load of more than 77,000 MW over the blistering Texas summer.
A demand of 70,000 MW would not be the highest the state has faced this year. And with a lack of precipitation, it is far less likely that gas power generators and wind turbines will freeze during this week.
Despite the improvements and the positive outlook for the week, Abbott told reporters he understands that the state will need to show consistent grid reliability to win back citizen's trust.
"Trust has to be earned. And we earn that trust in part by going through this past summer though 11 new all-time records for power demand and being able to meet that power demand with ease. I think that trust will be earned over the next few days as people see that we have ultra-cold temperatures and the grid is going to be able to perform with ease. Trust has to be earned back over a period of time," Abbott said.