BILL MAGNESS

In the weeks since the winter storm, both ERCOT and the Public Utility Commission of...

<figcaption> Reliability coordinators monitored the state power grid during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas command center in Taylor in 2012. <cite>Credit: REUTERS/Julia Robinson</cite> </figcaption>

In today's section of "not shocking news": Texans are mad at ERCOT. A survey from the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs took a look at Texas' feelings toward ERCOT in the wake of Winter Storm Uri. According to UH, 69 percent of Texans lost power for an average of 42 hours between Feb. 14-20. Nearly three out of four Texans (74 percent) are unhappy with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas' performance during the winter storm, with 65 percent strongly disapproving. The death toll from Winter Storm Uri stands at 111, but could increase as more data is available.

WASHINGTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner went before the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to testify as a witness for a hearing about the power grid failures that happened during last month’s winter storm. The hearing, called by U.S. Rep Lizzie Fletcher (D-Houston), will take a look at the statewide failures during the storm. Yet politically powerful natural gas companies, along with their regulators, have largely escaped the wrath of Gov. At least 57 people died during the winter storm that plunged large swaths of Texas into subfreezing temperatures and overwhelmed the state’s electricity infrastructure, causing massive power outages. That’s because nearly half of the total power generation capacity for the main state electricity grid was offline as weather conditions caused failures in every type of power source: natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear.

Phelan’s office called the proposals the “first phase” of the House’s proposed reforms in the wake of the winter storm. Greg Abbott, who has called on lawmakers to reform ERCOT and require — and fund — the winterization of the Texas power system. The legislation would replace the board’s “unaffiliated” members with members appointed by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker. The bill would also mandate that all board members live in Texas. For example, retroactively equipping power plants and the state's energy system to withstand cold temperatures is likely to be very difficult and costly, energy experts have said.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness was removed from his post Wednesday. Separately, a Bloomberg report Thursday disclosed a $16 billion pricing error by ERCOT the week of the storm. ERCOT, which sets wholesale power prices, set the cost of electricity at the $9,000-a-megawatt-hour maximum, a normal step during an emergency. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative, the largest power cooperative in Texas filed for bankruptcy this week, citing a massive bill from ERCOT. More leaders resignDeAnn Walker, the chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, also resigned this week following calls from Lt. Gov.

(AP Photo/LM Otero)Here are things to know for Friday, March 5:1. California COVID-19 variant identified in Harris CountyAs more and more Americans are getting vaccinated, there is another twist to the coronavirus situation in Harris County -- the California variant showed up. She said the California variant was deadlier than other variants in a small study. Harris County Public Health confirmed three cases of the California variant within Harris county. Officials said those three Harris County residents are no longer in isolation or contagious.

(AP Photo/Eric Gay)AUSTIN, Texas – Bill Magness, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO who was terminated by his board Wednesday, said he will not seek or accept severance pay, according to a spokesperson. According to the terms of his employment contract, his severance pay would have been equivalent to one year of his current base salary, which is more than $800,000. She had come under sharp criticism from lawmakers after largely blaming Texas’ power outages on ERCOT. Magness, who endured more than five hours of questioning by state senators on Thursday, was criticized for the organization’s winter storm preparations. Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas' power grid manager was fired Wednesday amid growing calls for his ouster following February's deadly blackouts that left millions of people without electricity and heat for days in subfreezing temperatures. Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, becomes the second senior official to depart in the wake of the one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history. At the Texas Capitol last week, lawmakers investigating the outages laid into Magness for his handling of the storm. Over hours of testimony, Magness defended actions that he said kept the grid that serves most of Texas' 30 million residents intact. Greg Abbott has accused ERCOT of misleading the state about the readiness of the grid, placing blame for the outages almost singularly on the grid operators.

Bill Magness is the latest official to depart following the winter storm catastrophe. The decision is the latest of several recently announced departures from the ERCOT board, which also included Magness. Magness’ absence will leave the 16-person ERCOT board with a mix of vacancies and temporary members. She had come under sharp criticism by lawmakersafter largely pointing blame for Texas' power outages to ERCOT. Magness, who endured more than five hours of questioning by state senators Thursday, was criticized for the organization's preparations for a winter storm.

Austin, Texas — Texas' power grid manager was fired Wednesday amid growing calls for his ouster following February's deadly blackouts that left millions of people without electricity and heat for days in subfreezing temperatures. Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, becomes the second senior official to depart in the wake of the one of the worst blackouts in U.S. history. At the Texas Capitol last week, lawmakers investigating the outages laced into Magness for his handling of the storm. Over hours of testimony, Magness defended actions that he said kept the grid that serves most of Texas' 30 million residents intact. Greg Abbott has accused ERCOT of misleading the state about the readiness of the grid, placing blame for the outages almost singularly on the grid operators.

The decision is the latest of several recently announced departures from the ERCOT board, which also included Magness. Magness's absence leaves a mix of vacancies and temporary members on the 16-member ERCOT board. She had come under sharp criticism by lawmakers after largely pointing blame for Texas’ power outages to ERCOT, the entity her agency oversees. Magness also defended ERCOT as an entity that carries out what state lawmakers and the PUC direct. Magness worked at ERCOT for more than a decade and became its CEO and president in 2016 after working as its general counsel.

As temperatures plunged and snow and ice whipped the state, much of Texas' power grid collapsed, followed by its water systems. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)WASHINGTON – The House Oversight Committee is investigating the agency that operates the Texas power grid, seeking information and documents about the lack of preparation for the recent winter storm that caused millions of power outages and dozens of deaths across the state. AdSevere winter storms in Texas “have occurred repeatedly over decades, and ERCOT has been unprepared for them,” Khanna wrote in a letter to ERCOT CEO Bill Magness. Last month's storm followed similar winter storms in 1989 and 2011 that also caused massive outages, Khanna said. “It appears that lessons learned (again) in 2011 were not implemented either, leaving Texas vulnerable to extreme winter weather again in 2021,'' he wrote.

The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state's electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday, according to a resignation letter provided to the Texas Tribune. Greg Abbott-appointed commission came under public criticism in the aftermath of Texas' power crisis that left millions of people in the dark for days and claimed the lives of dozens. Dan Patrick called for PUC chairwoman DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness to resign. Walker said the commission has "not been given legal authority by the Legislature to require winter weatherization," a primary concern after the power crisis was precipitated by power plants tripping offline. Abbott, Walker said she was resigning because she believed it to be in the best interest of the state.

The chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric, telecommunication, and water and sewer utilities, resigned Monday, according to a resignation letter provided to the Texas Tribune. Governor Greg Abbott-appointed commissioners came under public criticism in the aftermath of Texas’ power crisis that left millions of people in the dark for days and claimed the lives of dozens. Dan Patrick called for PUC chairwoman DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness to resign. The PUC is charged with overseeing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, a nonprofit entity that manages and operates the electricity grid that covers much of the state. Lawmakers probed how much information she had on whether the state’s power system could withstand winter storms, and questioned why she didn’t raise concerns about the possibility of outages sooner.

Ad“Both the PUC Chair and ERCOT CEO said they were prepared the day before the storm hit in full force, but obviously they were not. ERCOT CEO Bill Magness testified the information was not delivered to him – a critical failure of Magness’ team. “Both the Chairman and CEO publicly testified they had informed state leadership, including me, about the seriousness of the winter storm. Ad“I do not make this call for the resignation of the PUC Chair and the ERCOT CEO lightly. “The investigation into what happened during the winter storm crisis is just beginning.

“Both the PUC Chair and the ERCOT CEO said they were prepared the day before the storm hit in full force, but obviously they were not,” Patrick said in a statement. His statements come after the officials testified for hours late last week in committee hearings as state lawmakers grilled them over the power grid failures. The week of Feb. 14, freezing temperatures and snow caused mass power outages and water issues and left dozens of people dead. Patrick said PUC and ERCOT officials were not ready for a winter storm of this magnitude and were given ideas for ways to prepare, but failed to do so. “I do not make this call for the resignation of the PUC Chair and the ERCOT CEO lightly,” Patrick said.

HOUSTON – After two days and two hearings, Texas state senators and representatives will begin deciding how to reform the embattled Electric Reliability Council of Texas, ERCOT, which manages the flow of electricity across our state. Magness testified ERCOT is asking each of the 185 power plants that went down during the storm to provide specific reasons for the outages. Nye testified his list did include natural gas facilities, but he learned during the storm his list was not the most current. Garland Power and Light COO Tom Hancock told state senators the company invested in a robust winterization effort following the 2011 winter storm that caused similar problems in Texas. Hancock said as a result none of the natural gas facilities in their territory went offline.

HOUSTON – For more than 15 hours, lawmakers asked tough questions about what caused the state’s power system to fail. The outages left more than a dozen people dead and countless homeowners are trying to fix busted pipes. During the first day of hearings, Texas legislators heard from the chair of the Texas Railroad Commission, Christi Craddick who said ERCOT did not fully understand that cutting power to certain areas of natural gas production was compounding problems, and there needed to be better communication about priorities during outages. RELATED: Texas legislature holds hearings over statewide blackoutsCraddick’s testimony countered ERCOT CEO Bill Magness’ reports that freezing temperatures and precipitation are what unexpectedly knocked dozens of power plants offline, and natural gas was hit harder than most. With a tense day one in the books, day two of hearings will pick back up Friday at 9 a.m.SENATE HEARING:HOUSE HEARING:

AUSTIN – The state legislature has begun hearings in Austin on the statewide blackouts. Wednesday, six of ERCOT’s board members resigned in the power failure fallout, but many are saying much more needs to be done. He said nearly half of the state’s power supply went down at the height of the storm due to the extreme weather impacts. Greg Abbott also held a news conference Wednesday, where he took an aggressive stance and promised to get to the bottom of the power grid failure. You will get those answers.”Abbott also said he’s making it a legislative priority to mandate and fund the “winterization” of the state’s power infrastructure to prevent this from ever happening again.

The president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Bill Magness, said he wouldn't have done anything differently last week when millions of Texans lost power during a severe winter storm. HOUSTON HEROES: What 'Mattress Mack' told Ellen DeGeneres about Houston's recovery from winter stormERCOT implemented "rolling" outages during the winter storm to prevent the entire grid from collapsing, which would have resulted in a catastrophic blackout that could last months. State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, asked Magness if there was anything he would have done differently, the Houston Chronicle's Taylor Goldenstein reported. THE COST OF THE STORM: Winter storm could cost Texas more money than any disaster in state historyMagness said he "feels a great deal of responsibility and remorse about the event." As of Feb. 22, Harris County reported 16 deaths related to the winter storm, the Houston Chronicle's Brooke A. Lewis reported.

The first hearings are set to take place ThursdayTODAY IN HOUSTON | Start your day with the Houston Public Media newsletterUpdated 3:32 p.m. CTThe head of the state's power grid operator on Thursday defended the group’s decision to order widespread blackouts during last week's winter storm, telling state lawmakers that doing so helped prevent a larger disaster. At Thursday’s joint House committee hearing, Texas energy executives from NRG Energy and Vistra Corp. said weather conditions last week were unprecedented — far exceeding freezing temperatures in 2011 when Texas also experienced blackouts. Last week, about 4 million people across Texas went without power for days as temperatures dropped below freezing, placing unprecedented demand on the power grid that led to generator failures. FROM KUT IN AUSTIN | Texas' Power Grid Was 4 Minutes And 37 Seconds Away From Collapsing. If there are ambiguities, inconsistencies, or potential deficiencies in state law, they must be addressed immediately through legislative action."

Bill Magness, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said widespread blackouts during last week’s winter storm were necessary to prevent grid failure. WATCH THE HOUSE FEED | WATCH THE SENATE FEEDIn hours of testimony from energy executives, state regulators and managers of the Texas electric grid, blame was plentiful. In 2011, another winter storm in Texas widespread power outages. Last week, about 4 million people across Texas went without power for days as temperatures dropped below freezing, placing unprecedented demand on the power grid that led to generator failures. FROM KUT IN AUSTIN | Texas' Power Grid Was 4 Minutes And 37 Seconds Away From Collapsing.

The most significant source of power loss during the crisis came from natural gas power plants that couldn't generate power — whether from fuel supply shortages or freezing components at the plants. Natural gas generation was particularly challenged, data shows: Outages from natural gas plants spiked from around 11,000 megawatts to near 25,000 megawatts in the early hours of Feb. 15. "If you don't have natural gas fuel, you can't run a natural gas plant," Magness said. However, board members also commended ERCOT grid operators for making the difficult decision to order the outages, which averted an uncontrolled system collapse. Six ERCOT board members' resignations became effective at the end of the meeting.

Millions went without power in Texas for days last week, and on Wednesday the grid operator's board acknowledged Texans' suffering. The most significant source of power loss during the crisis came from natural gas power plants that couldn’t generate power — whether from fuel supply shortages or freezing components at the plants. AdHowever, board members also commended ERCOT grid operators for making the difficult decision to order the outages, which averted an uncontrolled system collapse. Six ERCOT board members’ resignations became effective at the end of the meeting. ERCOT confirmed on Wednesday that Randal Miller, who represented independent retail power providers, also resigned his position on the board.

AdFour of the departing board members acknowledged “concerns about out-of-state board leadership" in a letter to grid members and the state's Public Utility Commission, which oversees ERCOT. The board members did not reflect on their own performance in the letter. The other board members are vice chairman Peter Cramton, Terry Bulger and Raymond Hepper. The selection of “unaffiliated” ERCOT board members — like most of those who are resigning — must be approved by the PUC. Hepper also declined comment beyond the resignation letter, and other board members did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Craig Ivey, who had applied to fill a vacancy on the board, has withdrawn his application, according to the filing. In a letter signed by Talberg, Cramton, Bulger and Hepper, the group said they are resigning after recent concerns about out-of-state ERCOT board members. “We have noted recent concerns about out-of-state board leadership at ERCOT. Ad“Before we step aside, we are beginning the process of reviewing this extreme cold weather event and resulting power crisis. ERCOT leadership made assurances that Texas’ power infrastructure was prepared for the winter storm, but those assurances proved to be devastatingly false.

On February 8, ERCOT notified power generators freezing temperatures were on the way and would last from February 11 to 15. At 12:17 a.m. on February 15, ERCOT moved to a Level 1 Energy Emergency Alert and asked for power conservation. ERCOT is urging consumers and businesses to reduce electricity usage.”At1:25 a.m. ERCOT was at EEA Level 3, the highest level. AdERCOT reported a total of 185 power plants were offline during the storm. Once adopted, power plants could face stiff penalties if weatherization standards are not followed.

As the deadly winter blast hit Texas earlier this week, the top official at the state's power grid said the system was "seconds and minutes" away from leaving residents without power for months. Electric Reliability Council of Texas received intense criticism for leaving some 4 million customers without power this week. Bill Magness, the president and CEO of the council, told the Texas Tribune on Wednesday that it could have all been much worse. "It was seconds and minutes [from possible failure] given the amount of generation that was coming off the system." It appeared a lot of the power generation that was offline was due to issues with the natural gas system, grid officials said.

While electricity has largely been restored across the state, there are currently more than 184,000 customers still without power. "We've moved out of emergency operations as of ... 10:35 [a.m.] so that now also removes the conservation request I think at that time," ERCOT Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin said in an online press conference. The conservation request was reportedly in place for five days. "We only request conservation from customers when we really feel like we're nearing emergency conditions," ERCOT CEO Bill Magness said. ERCOT's previous request did not prevent the grid from failing and leaving more than 4 million Texans without heat, Magness said conservation can help.

HOUSTON – Leaders with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) ended emergency protocols and ceased rotating outages Friday morning. ERCOT leaders said enough power plants came back online to bring stability to the state’s power grid. With the crisis now passed, Magness said ERCOT is sending out Request for Information to all power generators who went offline during the storm. Magness said these RFI’s will help ERCOT gain a better understanding of exactly why 185 power plants tripped offline Sunday night and Monday morning. AdDan Woodfin, ERCOT senior director of system operations, said the state’s grid unexpectedly lost 40% of its power supply during the storm.

About 260,000 homes and businesses in the Tennessee county that includes Memphis were told to boil water because of water main ruptures and pumping station problems. And water pressure problems prompted Memphis International Airport to cancel all incoming and outgoing Friday flights. Paul Lee Davis got to the front of the line at a water station set up by city officials only to have the water run out. Water service was restored Friday to two Houston Methodist community hospitals, but officials still were bringing in drinking water and some elective surgeries were canceled, spokeswoman Gale Smith said. AdMore than 192,000 Louisiana residents -- some still struggling to recover from last August's Hurricane Laura -- had no water service Friday, according to the state health department.

Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas TribuneThe operator of Texas' power grid said Thursday that it has made significant progress in returning energy to the state's system and is no longer having to order electricity providers to cut power to homes and businesses. But many people across the state remain without power due to more local problems in the electrical system. And in a growing crisis, millions of people across the state have had their water service disrupted because of the winter storm. It's unclear how many people currently are lacking power in the state, though the number has declined significantly in the past 24 hours. Oncor Electric Delivery, Texas’ largest utility, provides power for almost 4 million customers across Texas.

HOUSTON – Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) officials held a news conference Thursday to address the current power situation in Texas, saying there is a possibility that outages could continue if demand outstrips supply as people come back online. AdIn addition to the discussion about the current situation, ERCOT said information about the facilities that failed and a timeline of events will eventually come out in weeks or even perhaps months ahead. The officials also addressed local calls for the ERCOT board to be replaced, saying if the Texas Legislature would sanction such a change, it would follow such governance. Discussing winterization of facilities, ERCOT officials said that’s a matter for the owners who operate the facilities across the state. The ERCOT officials declined to give a grade to themselves when pressed by reporters, with one saying, “I think other people ought to grade us.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday detailed his plans to restore power to the millions of residents who have had to go without amid a brutal and deadly winter storm. Abbott said nearly 40,000 megawatts of power remain offline, due to mechanical problems, lack of gas and weather issues. Texas is the only state that has its own power grid. The plunging temperatures have also led to water troubles, as pipes burst and water treatment plants lost power. In a statement Wednesday night, Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said that "Texas is in dire straits.

Just a week before, state energy leaders assured the public Texas’ power grid was ready and able to handle the coming storm. ERCOT does not generate power, Texas is supplied with energy by a variety of private companies. In the run-up to this storm, Woodfin said that 94 plants were spot-checked virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. “Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. This includes the natural gas & coal generators.”The Texas power grid has not been compromised.

“Every one of our sources of power supply underperformed," Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University in Houston, tweeted. The staggering imbalance between Texas' energy supply and demand also caused prices to skyrocket from roughly $20 per megawatt hour to $9,000 per megawatt hour in the state's freewheeling wholesale power market. Grid operators say rolling blackouts are a last resort when power demand overwhelms supply and threatens to create a wider collapse of the whole power system. In Texas this week, grid operators and utilities knew about the dire weather forecast for at least a week. Texas, which has a grid largely disconnected from others to avoid federal regulation, may have to rethink the go-it-alone strategy.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Wednesday detailed his plans to restore power to the millions of residents who have had to go without amid a brutal and deadly winter storm. Abbott said nearly 40,000 megawatts of power remain offline, due to mechanical problems, lack of gas and weather issues. "I understand that people are angry that this has happened... Let us get the power back on," CEO Bill Magness of ERCOT, the power utility that supplies most of Texas, told CBS News. Texas is the only state that has its own power grid. The storm has also been blamed for at least 24 deaths, 11 of which occurred in Texas, officials said.

Ad“Every one of our sources of power supply underperformed," Daniel Cohan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University in Houston, tweeted. The staggering imbalance between Texas' energy supply and demand also caused prices to skyrocket from roughly $20 per megawatt hour to $9,000 per megawatt hour in the state's freewheeling wholesale power market. Grid operators say rolling blackouts are a last resort when power demand overwhelms supply and threatens to create a wider collapse of the whole power system. In Texas this week, grid operators and utilities knew about the dire weather forecast for at least a week. Texas, which has a grid largely disconnected from others to avoid federal regulation, may have to rethink the go-it-alone strategy.

A snow covered Matilda Street in Dallas after a winter storm hit the area on Monday. Many Texans are currently facing hours-long outages during freezing weather— or have been without power for days. Magness said ERCOT has been unable to project specifics on when long-lasting power outages would end "because of the variables we've identified around the resources, the weather." ERCOT, a nonprofit that manages the power grid used by almost all of the state, has come under scrutiny this week after a massive winter storm caused millions of residents to lose power for long spans during below freezing temperatures. The loss has come from multiple sources of power — including natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear.

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)The Latest on winter weather across the U.S. (all times local):OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Stitt’s disaster declaration request for all 77 Oklahoma counties comes a day after the governor spoke with Biden by phone. ___NEW ORLEANS — Rolling power blackouts necessitated by severe winter weather hit water systems in at least two Louisiana cities. He implored residents to stop running water, noting that temperatures had risen above the freezing mark___RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Gov. — The Louisiana Department of Health on Wednesday confirmed three deaths related to winter weather this week.

While the grid manager said it regained some supply Tuesday, that was partially offset by the loss of other power generators. ERCOT initially announced shorter rolling blackouts to lessen that strain, but ultimately had to move to more sustained outages. A quarter of the generators in Texas are failing to produce energy because the freeze challenged so many. Renewables such as wind turbines in West Texas and the coast are responsible for most of the remainder of the shortage. The imbalance of supply and demand are causing ERCOT to intentionally cut power for some customers.

Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that rolled through Texas. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneSign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Officials with the state's energy grid operator said Tuesday it is still struggling with balancing supply and demand to the Texas power grid — and could not project when long-lasting outages would end as a winter storm caused millions of residents to lose power. Hearings in both the House and Senate are already scheduled on the issue in the coming weeks, according to leaders in the two chambers.

Spring, Texas – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is beginning to restore some of the power lost due to the winter weather event in Texas. As of 4 p.m., approximately 2,500 MW of load is in the process of being restored – enough power to serve 500,000 households. “ERCOT and Texas electric companies have been able to restore service to hundreds of thousands of households today, but we know there are many people who are still waiting,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness. Controlled outages are occurring to protect the electric grid from uncontrolled, cascading outages. Controlled outages will likely last throughout the evening and into tomorrow as ERCOT works to restore the electric system to normal operations.

Some utility companies that deliver electricity to Texans are telling customers to expect power outages through Monday night and potentially into Tuesday. Jackie Sargent, the general manager for Austin Energy, said Monday afternoon that based on information from ERCOT, the local power outages could extend into Tuesday afternoon. Wind turbines, which provide a much smaller source of energy for the state's power grid, were iced over and also out of commission. "The state must own and explain the magnitude of these power outages across the State," Turner tweeted Monday. A spokesperson for the power company Oncor said most of the power outages in Dallas-Fort Worth have been due to excess demand.

A major winter storm affected the entire state of Texas. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas TribuneSign up for The Brief, our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news. Texas’ electrical grid operator is implementing rolling blackouts across most of the state Monday after a massive winter storm brought unprecedented demand for electricity and forced multiple power-generating units offline. On Sunday, the National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for all 254 counties. The grid operator also said it would provide an update at 10:30 a.m. Central time Monday.

State officials said surging demand, driven by people trying to keep their homes warm, and cold weather knocking some power stations offline had pushed Texas' system beyond the limits. “This event was well beyond the design parameters for a typical, or even an extreme, Texas winter that you would normally plan for. At DFW, the temperature was 4 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 degrees Celsius) — 3 degrees (-16 degrees) colder than Moscow. In Houston, officials said Bush Intercontinental Airport runways would remain closed until at least 1 p.m. Tuesday, a day longer than previously expected. The southern Plains had been gearing up for the winter weather for the better part of the weekend.

HOUSTON – The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the flow of electric power to most of Texas, urged Texans to conserve energy in an effort to keep demand from overwhelming supply Sunday morning as a major winter storm rolled across the state. The storm is bringing freezing rain and cold temperatures to many parts of Texas over the next several days. The National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings, watches or advisories for most Texas counties. Ad“We are experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped Texas,” said ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness. Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible.

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