Power outages begin in Texas during the massive winter storm

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The Texas grid operator is implementing continuous outages in most parts of the state on Monday, after a massive winter storm brought unprecedented demand for electricity and forced several power-generating units offline.

The outages started at 1:25 Central Time. The Texas Electric Reliability Council said it would probably last “all morning and could be initiated by the end of this weather emergency.”

“Every network operator and every electricity company is fighting to restore electricity right now,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in a press release.

The outages are designed to reduce electricity demand until capacity can be restored. ERCOT officials suggested on Sunday that it might be necessary, saying it would most likely take between 10 and 45 minutes at a time.

The storm that hit Texas is rare for both its scope and intensity. On Sunday, the National Meteorological Service issued a winter storm warning for all 254 counties. Cities like Dallas and Austin had temperatures in simple numbers Monday morning. Near the coast in places like Houston and Corpus Christi, the weather was in its teens.

ERCOT announced on Sunday evening that it has set a winter record in terms of electricity demand, reaching 69,150 megawatts between 18:00 and 19:00. The network operator also said that it will provide an update at 10:30, central time on Monday.

The storm closed much of the state. Many roads are frozen, many schools have closed, and at the request of Gov. Greg Abbott, President Joe Biden has declared a statewide federal emergency declaration.