The Electric Reliability Council of Texas says it expects "adequate supply" of electricity through the cold weather expected this week. Extreme Cold Warnings stretch from the Panhandle, across Dallas/Fort Worth and to the Rio Grande through noon Thursday.
"A lot of Texans are concerned. Will the power grid hold up?" says Governor Greg Abbott. "The fact of the matter is the power grid has never been stronger than it is now."
Since blackouts in 2021, Abbott says generators have added more capacity, power plants are more "winterized," and natural gas pipelines are more able to keep working in extreme weather.
"The power grid is going to be able to withstand this challenge," he says. "The power grid we have today is completely different than it was four years ago."
ERCOT says power plants now have 4,000 megawatts of back-up fuel supply in case of an issue with delivery.
"We have some new reliability tools we have been able to leverage over the last couple years that have been extremely helpful, things like a firm fuel supply," says ERCOT Chief Executive Pablo Vegas.
Vegas says ERCOT has been working with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, Public Utilities Commission, power generators and transmission providers "to make sure everybody's prepared and has the resources they need."
Vegas says changes made since the blackouts have been "highly effective." This year, he says ERCOT has inspected 300 power generators and 150 transmission providers.
"Any questions about outages are generally going to be likely local in nature," he says.
The head of the Public Utilities Commission says the organization has been in "constant communication" with generators and utilities.
"No one has expressed any concerns about the winter cold," says PUC Chairman Thomas Gleeson. "The generators have all confirmed they have adequate supply of fuel. The transmission distribution utilities have cut back thousands of miles of vegetation to mitigate the impact of any falling trees or any ice."
Gleeson says anyone who does have a power outage or sees a downed power line should call their local utility.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management urges people to learn how to shut off their home's water supply before the cold weather arrives in case pipes freeze. Chief Nim Kidd warns people not to use wood-burning stoves, space heaters or generators inside their home.
"When temperatures get this cold, people do anything they can to stay warm," he says. "Don't forget carbon monoxide is a silent killer. It is odorless, colorless and tasteless."
ERCOT's Vegas says the grid has seen "rapid growth" in power generation. He says plants have added 13,500 megawatts of supply to the grid since last winter.
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