ERCOT: This won’t be a repeat of 2021, but power outages are still possible

DALLAS - As Texans prepare for the upcoming winter weather event, many are concerned about widespread power outages and their ability to stay warm indoors. Officials say this won’t be like the storm five years ago, but outages are still possible.

What Shouldn’t Happen

Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday issued a disaster declaration for 134 counties ahead of the weekend winter weather.

It’s expected to be the worst winter storm since February 2021, when the state’s power grid failed, and an estimated 246 people died.

But officials with the state and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas say there have been improvements and upgrades to the grid since then. More alternative sources of energy are also available in the state.

What they're saying:

The head of ERCOT said there will be more than enough power to meet the demand during the cold days ahead. He also emphasized that this storm in scale is not like what Texas went through in 2021.

"The state was experiencing extremely cold weather leading into the storm coming through and had a long duration of cold weather following that. This storm is going to be more transient and is not going to be as long a duration. We’re forecasting highs in terms of peak demand in the low 80,000 range for the electric grid. We have well over 90,000 megawatts of capacity to be able to serve that demand throughout the weekend. So, we’re not anticipating any shortfalls in power," said ERCOT President Pablo Vegas.

What Could Happen

Although the state is confident it can deliver power and meet the demand, there’s still a chance that people will lose power during the storm.

The biggest risk will be for the areas that get a lot of ice.

Sleet and snow are not so threatening to transformers and utility lines. But freezing rain is a different story. The ice can weigh down power lines and tree limbs, causing them to snap and fall.

That’s what energy providers like Oncor are bracing for.

What they're saying:

"In preparation for that this week, we’ve been getting people and resources distributed across our service area. We’ve increased the number of workers that we have available. That’s line workers. That’s tree trimming workers. And then we’ve also been deploying transformers, poles, and equipment all across the service area to respond to potential service impacts," said Kerri Dunn with Oncor.

By the numbers:

Oncor serves about 10 million people in the state.

Its service area includes all of Dallas-Fort Worth, west to Odessa, east to Tyler, and north to Wichita Falls.

There are 140,000 miles of transmission and distribution lines.

What You Can Do

It’s still a good idea to prepare for possible power outages, especially if you live in an area that’s expected to get a lot of freezing rain.

Charge devices and power banks, check the batteries in lanterns and flashlights, and gather up heavy blankets and coats.

It’s also a good idea to have food in the house that you can eat without heat.

Refill essential medications on Thursday night or Friday morning, just in case you are stuck at home because of icy streets.