As Houston braces for freezing temperatures, energy expert says to prepare in case of blackout – Houston Public Media

Julia Reihs

There’s a chance for rolling power outages next week due to incoming freezing temperatures in the Houston region and across the country, according to a local energy expert.

The Houston region expects to see temperatures drop below freezing on Sunday. And as of Friday, the forecast from the National Weather Service calls for snow Monday night and Tuesday morning.

University of Houston Energy Fellow Ed Hirs told Houston Matters on Friday that Texas does not have enough power plants to sustain the amount of energy sometimes required during extreme weather events. There were widespread power outages during a prolonged freeze in 2021.

“We have some batteries, but not nearly enough, not what we need to keep Texans warm overnight,” he said. “That’s the problem. We have a million more Texans here than we had in 2021, and not enough power plants.”

When Texas sees too much energy demand and not enough power, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) typically has to implement rolling blackouts. Millet said this could lead to risks on the road and at home.

“It’s a matter of public safety,” he said. “Traffic lights will go down, the water system could go down again. So everybody has to have some durable water, potable water available. With any luck, we won’t have rolling blackouts. But I would expect them.”

In 2021, during Winter Storm Uri, some Texans faced higher than normal utility bills after the outage. The statewide death toll surpassed Hurricane Harvey in 2017, when many died of hypothermia.

During the November 2023 election, Texas voters approved Proposition 7, which was intended to help add power plants. Millet has previously said there is no guaranteed incentive for the proposal, and it could take years before the state sees a difference.