Texas Electric Grid Failure Affects Millions

The recent widespread Texas electric grid failure has affected countless people across the state, with millions suffering from loss of electricity for days on end.

Texans were hit with a slew of other issues, as well, from bursting pipes and water damage to hypothermia and more, NBC News reported.

“Beginning around 11 p.m. [Sunday night], multiple generating units began tripping off-line in rapid progression due to the severe cold weather,” Dan Woodfin, senior director of system operations at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the organization that manages the state’s electric grid, told ABC affiliate WFAA.

Essentially, equipment froze, power reserves diminished, and ERCOT asked providers to start rotating outages that lasted for extended periods of time for many Texans. 

The Texas electric grid failure was a unique result of the winter storm that hit many southern states because the grid is separated from the rest of the country’s power, experts said, according to the Texas Tribune. The Texas electric grid had not been improved to withstand extreme winter temperatures.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott maintains the Texas electric grid failure is not due to the grid being compromised.

“The ability of some companies that generate the power has been frozen,” he tweeted. “This includes the natural gas & coal generators. They are working to get generation back online.”

But others say this kind of extreme weather should have been foreseen and that better winterization should have been implemented for equipment all over the state.  

Many were left with not just a lack of electricity, but with no access to clean water that didn’t have to be boiled — and in some cases, with no water at all. Pipes burst and froze, but can soon be expected to thaw and cause water damage and flooding. Household food supplies have been compromised, and the state as a whole faces a larger food scarcity problem, NPR reported.

Some populations were left particularly vulnerable during the Texas electric grid failure, including elderly folks, disabled people, and those with chronic illnesses, according to USA Today.

Marginalized communities were also hit hard, with minority neighborhoods some of the first to lose power and some of the last to get it back, The New York Times reported. Low-income minority communities generally have fewer resources available to them to withstand disasters like these, from the infrastructure of their houses to their communities, as well as access to emergency funds.

The true extent of the damage caused by the massive Texas electric grid failure is yet unknown, but as more information is gathered and Texas begins to recover from this devastation, local power companies and insurance companies may be held responsible for a part played in the subsequent problems. 

If you are a homeowner affected by the Texas electric grid failure, you may be able to file a property damage or personal injury lawsuit and pursue compensation.