TEXAS, USA — Many of us were left with bad memories following the February winter storm after experiencing days without power. Every time the temperature drops, many may wonder can it happen again?
The good news is we are not in the same situation now as we were last year, but, and it is a big but, that does not guarantee the power will always stay on.
It is hard to forget the cold, the snow, and no power for four days last winter. While temperatures will drop below freezing, they will not be as continuously low for as long as they were in February 2021
“The cold that we’re having now or for the next couple of days is much less severe than wat we saw last February,” said Thomas Overbye, director of the Smart Grid Center at Texas A&M.
The other difference is Texas power plants are better winterized this year. Yet, that does not mean you will never be without power again.
“We can do a lot in society to minimize the impact a blackout would have,” Overbye said. “We can’t totally eliminate blackouts. So we can’t tell people the power is always going to stay on because it won’t. We’ve done a good job, but it’s not perfect.”
If another outage occurs during cold weather, it is likely to be shorter because the power grid was upgraded. CPS Energy say it is ready for this round of winter weather.
Stay with KENS 5 for all the latest on the winter weather.