AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott held a press conference Friday morning to give an update on the artic cold front that has impacted Texas.
Abbott said many areas in Texas experienced sub-zero temperatures last night and will continue to experience the bitterly cold temps for a few more nights. He said he is anticipating that the entire state will be in freezing or below freezing temperature situations overnight.
The governor assured the public that the power grid is performing well and has continued to perform well at peak demand during the winter storm. He noted that the peak, which was Friday morning, was 69,000 megawatts and will not exceed that amount for the rest of the storm.
Abbott said ERCOT reported to have more than 86,000 megawatts available during peaks, which far exceeds the peak demand during last year’s winter storm.
Because of the actions taken by legislators, ERCOT and PUC over the past year, Texas was able to withstand the cold weather with a stronger grid. Abbott said Texas has 15% more power generation than last year. An increase of generators being online, passing inspections, and having alternative fuels being available have also contributed to the grid’s success.
ERCOT reports that it will have plenty of power demand over the next two days.
Abbott said ERCOT’s grid currently shows it has between 15K to 17K megawatts of extra power capacity, which can power at least three million homes across Texas.
Around 20,000 Texans were without power as of Friday morning. Abbott said the outage has nothing to do with the grid and was most likely caused by wind, ice or downed powerlines. Those without power are asked to call their local providers or visit PUC.Texas.gov/storm.
“The Texas power grid is more reliable and resilient than it has ever been, and we are continuing to actively respond to the impact of this winter storm,” Abbott said. “Over two dozen of our state agency partners are working collaboratively to ensure that Texans continue to have the resources they need to stay safe. I encourage Texans to visit TDEM.TEXAS.GOV for a full list of resources available to them including warming shelters, information on local power providers, updates on road closures, and more. Most of our communities will continue to experience freezing temperatures over the next few day, so I urge Texans to stay off the roads if you can and continue to heed the guidance of their local officials.”