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More power outages in Houston likely as winter storm weakens statewide power grid

There's a winter storm blasting Houston and many residents are dealing with the freezing temperatures without power at their homes.
Credit: KHOU

HOUSTON — Some people have got their power back and others are still waiting as the entire state of Texas is experiencing an unprecedented power shortage due to a severe winter storm.

Click here to see the map of the outages

Early Monday, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), the agency that oversees the state's electric grid, declared the state of Texas at the highest energy emergency level because of lower power supply and high demand due to extremely low temperatures during the winter storm.

RELATED: Houston power outage map: Here's where the power is out

On Tuesday afternoon, CenterPoint said more power outages were possible because ERCOT directed them to reduce the electric system load.

"Customers should make preparations now for possible additional outages," the company said in a tweet.

When is the power coming back on?

There are still more than a million people without power in the Houston area. Everyone wants to know when it will be back on.

RELATED: When is the power coming back on? CenterPoint VP says it may vary

Even though some of the ice and snow is melting, Kenneth Mercado, VP for CenterPoint Electric Utilities says it just won’t be enough to get everyone their power back today, tonight or possibly even tomorrow.

RELATED: Winter storm updates: Mayor asks downtown buildings not in use to conserve power

The good news -- CenterPoint got power back on for a lot of people at around 4 a.m. Tuesday. We’re told they focused on neighborhoods that lost power first. The bad news is – CenterPoint has to shut other people’s power off to balance the grid.

Those rotating outages will continue through Tuesday night.

Here's what Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said on Tuesday:

“We must assume the worst,” Hidalgo said about the current power outages.

She's the latest government official to point a finger at ERCOT. She said it’s possible the current outages will last beyond the winter storm event and accuses ERCOT of being overly optimistic with its repair and power restoration estimates.

Watch out for CenterPoint imposters

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said there have been reports of people dressing up like CenterPoint employees to gain access to homes. Remember, the outages in Houston due to the severe weather do not require CenterPoint workers to enter residences.

RELATED: Fake CenterPoint employees trying to gain access to people's homes, HPD says

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