Millions of residents across the state of Texas have been left without power after the state’s power grid experienced a systemwide failure on Monday as the demand increased due to the historical weather conditions across the state.
According to ABC 13, as more information is being collected, ERCOT (The Electric Reliability Council of Texas) is hoping to have more power generation that will hopefully help to restore the power for some people. However, it won’t be enough to get a significant amount of customers online. They are reportedly hoping to get about 10-15% of outages to be restored by mid-afternoon. However, some residents should expect to be without power for an additional day.
Fox Business reports that by Tuesday, more than 4 million Texans were reported to have been without power. PowerOutage.us claims that over 1 million of those outages were reportedly in Houston, and more than 300,000 customers are without power in Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin.
Oncor Electric Delivery Company said on Tuesday, “At this time, [the Electric Reliability Council of Texas] is unable to predict when grid conditions will stabilize. All customers are urged to be prepared for continued extended outages.”
ABC 13 reports that a situation similar happened back in 2011 after a record-breaking cold snap that year. Some experts reportedly say that a power outage can be necessary in order to keep places like hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water, and wastewater treatment facilities up and running.
Areas in Texas have been dealing with cold weather for almost a week. Last week, at least five deaths were confirmed and several people were injured after a car pileup involving more than 100 vehicles took place in Fort Worth, TX. Officials say the crash started to take place freezing rain and sleet fell overnight, leaving the roads wet and slippery.
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TSR STAFF: Jade Ashley @Jade_Ashley94