The Texas Power Crisis: One-Time Catastrophe or Alarming Precedent?
Written by Sanjana Kumar
Illustrated by Maisie Nievera
The 2021 Texas Power Crisis was devastating– infrastructure was ruined, citizens were caught off guard, and unfortunately, lives were lost. According to The Texas Tribune, more than 4,500,000 Texans lost power and 48.6% of the state’s power grid went offline. However, as many have realized, this wasn’t a freak accident. The meteorological patterns had been hinting at the disastrous weather conditions, and the Texas power grid had long been susceptible due to its low reserve margins and detachment from the two major national power grids. After one year has passed, a critical question remains: has the government and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) put precautions in place to prevent such damages from ever occurring again?
Unfortunately, it would seem that the path to stable solutions is rocky. Government legislation is focusing on bills that will bring some improvements to the power grid, assuming that the disastrous conditions of the February freeze won’t occur again on the same scale. Plans for weatherization, the preparation of facilities to withstand harsh weather conditions, have been passed into effect. Fines will be directed towards facilities who don’t comply. Currently, this action only extends to power facilities and to the natural gas companies that power them, but only if regulators identify them as “critical.” Companies do not have to follow suit. Additionally, bond sales are being promoted to stabilize the energy market and ERCOT’s board has been restructured. Governor Greg Abbot announced that “Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas.” However, experts believe that this may not be enough.
Because of the lack of regulated weatherization for natural gas companies, power plants may simply not receive the gas they need during a crisis as their suppliers have been shut down. But other systematic issues remain. Other states that regularly face harsh winters have reliable power grids, so why not Texas? Those electricity markets have an emphasis on reliability, which demands higher prices in the short run but guarantees stability during difficult times. Texas, on the other hand, seems to favor short run consumer satisfaction, trying to remain uninvolved in the deregulated electricity market. Private parties set the demand for energy. Because of this system, a core issue has developed that influenced the fallout during the 2021 freeze–a lack of reserve power. This is critical. The government is not pushing for reforms that would require a large margin of energy to be held in case of emergency, as it would disrupt the norm of the market. The detachment of Texas’ power grid from the other two major national power grids, the Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection, contributes to this issue; if it were connected to these grids, Texas could provide reserve energy. However, this would be a monumental task that necessitates the involvement of the private sector and federal agencies and thereby, this goal may never come to fruition.
The lingering effects of the freeze continue to weigh Texans down. When power becomes of heightened demand, such as during the onset of the freeze, there is a potential for price gouging––the exploitative and severe increase of prices by retailers in response to higher need. There has been no action to clearly define price gouging and establish appropriate consequences for it. To accommodate for the messy behavior of the market during the power crisis, there are higher prices for Texans’ power bills, yet none of those extra fees will go towards power grid reform. The government has not made any pushes to provide aid to those who still suffer from damages incurred during the freeze. While a glimmer of hope comes with the weatherization efforts, if a freeze were to happen again on the same scale as in 2021, similar damages could be faced.
The recent freeze this February is a demonstration of the government’s policies being tested. Between the infrastructure improvements and less severe nature of the weather pattern, damages were not nearly as devastating as those of the 2021 freeze. However, Kenneth Medlock, an energy economist and fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, emphasizes the importance of stabilizing the power supply chain in order to truly prevent major damages from recurring.
While policies continue to change and infrastructure is in the process of being established, Texans should be prepared for situations similar to the first freeze. The Austin government advises securing one gallon of water per person in preparation for a seven-day period when freezing temperatures are in the forecast. Billy Sanez, a representative from AdvantaClean, advises proactively cleaning gutters and covering doors and windows (with weather stripping or caulking). Investing in faucet covers as well as insulating exposed pipes are also good measures to take. Finally, it is recommended that you replace the air filter in your furnace and clean your chimney. Doing these relatively inexpensive adjustments can prevent weather-related damages.