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Power grid weathers winter blast

Winter weather worries. A look at if the power grid can weather cold and keep the electricity on.

SAN ANTONIO — Many of us are concerned about keeping power after the deadly February 2021 winter storm left Texans in the dark for days, but we are unlikely to have a repeat power problem this week.

Power grid manager ERCOT said Texans will have enough electricity to keep the lights on and the heater running. That is because this winter blast is different from the February 2021 winter storm. Temperatures will be warmer and the cold will not last as long.

“It’s just not as widespread,” said Joshua Rhodes, an energy expert with the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin. “The temperatures aren’t as deep and so the demand for energy is not as high. In February 2021, we had all 254 counties of Texas under a winter storm watch at the same time."

It is unlikely we will see a statewide power outage, but the electricity might still go out locally. That is a quicker fix than the grid going down.

“Ice can make the power lines very heavy. Tthe ice can make trees heavy and they can fall over and fall onto a power line,” said Doug Lewin, an energy consultant and founder of Stoic Energy Consulting. “Usually those things can be fixed within a few hours.”

Be prepared with supplies like food, water, and blankets just in case you do lose power. Plus, keep your cell phone charged so you can stay informed of changing conditions.

“Always call your local electric company if you don’t have power because they need to be able to send out folks to fix the issues,” Rhodes said.

While there most likely will not be major power problems, the grid still remains vulnerable to extreme cold weather.

“We really have a long way to go before we can really say that the grid is completely fixed,” Rhodes said.

“The nightmare scenario is you get temperatures that are in the single digits right below freezing,” Lewin said. “It doesn’t have to be statewide, but across all the major urban areas that stretch as far as San Antonio, inclusive of Houston, Austin, DFW and you have low temperatures and snow and ice. That’s where you’re in a situation where the likelihood of outages goes quite high.”

Work still needs to be done so winter weather does not create anxiety about power loss.

“We need to winterize our gas supply,” Lewin said. “We need to winterize power plants. We need to winterize our homes and buildings. If we do those things, we can stop worrying every time it gets cold.”

If your area does lose power, be sure to check on any medically vulnerable family and friends.

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