TEXAS, USA — We may not see a repeat of the 2021 Texas winter storm, but with cold weather on the horizon, many of us think back to the power problems that crippled Texas and led to hundreds of deaths.
On Friday, ERCOT said this time around, the grid is ready for the Arctic blast headed our way, but as KHOU 11 energy expert Ed Hirs reminds us -- this is something we've heard before.
While the grid may handle this cold snap just fine, the grid operator is facing a different kind of shortfall involving credibility.
"ERCOT says they're prepared. The PUC says that ERCOT's prepared. The Railroad Commission says that the natural gas grid is prepared. You know we're still all in a mode of PTSD with the regulatory agencies," Hirs said.
ERCOT said it has implemented a variety of improvements to make the grid more reliable, including new weatherization works and inspections. The organization said it's coordinating additional fuel supplies for power plants so we don't run into a situation where natural gas providers can't get fuel to the plants that need it.
It also said it has made sure plant maintenance is scheduled well in advance of weather events like this cold snap, but Hirs said there's still a long way to go.
"It takes more than 20 months to fix something that has suffered from under-investment for more than 10 years," Hirs said. "We're still going in the wrong direction."
One silver lining, Hirs said in a worst-case scenario, even if problems do develop next week or later this winter, ERCOT and local distribution companies, like CenterPoint, should be better prepared to properly implement rolling blackouts to limit the impacts of any outages rather than leaving any one area in the dark for an extended period.