![]() ![]() At spots like Lake Texoma, shown above, there was significant ice covering vast portions of the lake, several inches of snow, and sub-zero cold as scores of powerless people shivered in the dark and cold. × The state of Texas endured severe cold and significant amounts of snow and ice last week, a winter weather siege that has exacted a huge human toll along with mounting losses of fish and wildlife. To understand the magnitude of the 2021 Texas Freeze, consider the numbers in terms of cold, snowfall and power loss. covered in snow-also took a tremendous toll on the Lone Star State's wildlife and fisheries. The winter siege-which left as much as 75 percent of the contiguous U.S. And that’s certainly the case in Texas as the state counts more than 20 who are dead, tallies up billions in damages, and sees how disastrous the arctic blast has been on infrastructure, homes, businesses, and vast outdoors landscape. Sign up for our Weekly Headlines Newsletter.At first glance, as temperatures rebound and spring winds blow this week, it would be easy to think that the misery from last week's historic mid-February freeze and parade of winter storms across Texas has come to an end.Īfter subzero cold and heavy snowfall (all of Texas' 254 counties were under a winter storm warning at the same time), it's suddenly time for shorts, sunglasses and suntan lotion again between the Red River and the Rio Grande. Stay on top of San Antonio news and views. Additionally, it notes that some details of how natural gas providers interact with the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas, the grid's operator, will likely "never be known given the confidentiality" of the companies' contracts. The UT report stops short of policy recommendations and calls for further study of the February outages. It recommended 20 additional policy changes, including stronger enforcement measures to ensure gas companies carry through with weatherization. ![]() That analysis warned that that lawmakers hadn't done enough to prevent future power failures or deal realistically with climate change. The new study, commissioned by the Texas Public Utility Commission, follows a separate report issued in June by former commissioners of the regulatory body. CPS Energy, for example, tallied losses on natural gas fuel purchases of as much as $850 million, and losses on purchased power costs of as much as $250 million. In addition to their human cost, the failures resulted in massive charges for the state's power generators, according to the report. Indeed, 18 of the natural gas facilities it studied had "zero output" on February 17, the peak of the storm. Greg Abbott declined to call for more grid reforms when he set priorities for the Lege's current special session.įor the study, UT researchers looked at the performance of 27 natural gas facilities during the freeze and found that as temperatures dropped, the operators' pipelines and equipment ceased to function, resulting in an 85% falloff when power companies needed the fuel. For example, there's no timeline for when the state will begin enforcing its winterization requirements, and much discretion is left up to regulators as to which facilities are required to upgrade.įurther, Republican Gov. The storm left millions without power, some for days.Ĭritics argue those new measures treat natural gas providers with kid gloves. The report also comes weeks after the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature passed new laws aimed at strengthening the state's electrical grid. However, at least one data-driven report suggests the actual number may exceed 700. ![]() UT issued the study Tuesday, the same day the state's health department revised its official death toll from the disaster, raising it to 210 from 151. "The production losses stemmed principally from freeze-offs, icy roads and electric outages to the equipment used in the natural gas industry." "The natural gas system could not meet demand," the authors of the 101-page study wrote. A new report from University of Texas at Austin energy experts lays much of the blame for power outages during the state's deadly February freeze on the failure of natural gas producers to fully weatherize their facilities. Millions of Texans went without power last month as the state's electrical grid buckled under the strain from the prolonged cold front. ![]()
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