Last week, a deadly winter storm swept across Texas leaving nearly the entire state without power. Lack of preparation and unprecedented conditions led the state’s power grid to shut down leaving homes and families cold. Houses began to flood from pipes freezing and bursting, yet road conditions and no power made it difficult to get the proper help. With the winter storm leaving dozens dead, questions are arising regarding why the power grid failed.
Texas pridefully runs on its own power grid. Most electricity produced for the state is produced within the state and in rare occasions, they outsource if needed. In the past, when a cold front moved over a part of the state, the production of power would just transfer to a different region within the state. Given the size of the storm that came through last week, this wasn’t possible.
The equipment in Texas is built to withstand high heat and long periods of drought, yet they have never been prepared for the freezing temperatures that were presented. Many are baffled to why equipment was never winterized as wind turbines were frozen and natural gas became inaccessible.
Texas is not the only state in recent history to experience power outages as California experienced a few over the summer. These instances prove how fragile the energy grid is within America and as the demand for energy increases, the strain on the dated infrastructure is beginning to show.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/17/how-the-texas-power-grid-failed-and-what-could-stop-it-from-happening-again.html
