Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said any remaining power outages in the state are due to equipment issues and not related to a lack of available generation.
As of Wednesday, Abbott said power has been restored to nearly two million homes, but 325,000 people are without power due to downed lines or lines that need to be manually reconnected to homes.
However, Abbott warned that the temperature will drop again at night. He said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT will continue to work to manage the power to ensure it doesn’t go out in residential areas, but there is still some uncertainty at power generation facilities.
“We hope and expect that no location will be without power tonight,” he said. “The good news is, we’re starting the night with every home in the state of Texas without power.”
The governor said at a news conference Thursday afternoon that the state is focusing on restoring power, getting clean water for those without, helping people whose homes have been damaged by broken pipes and adding additional heating centers.
Abbott said he was reviewing waivers and executive orders that could be enforced to speed up water and power to the people.
The state has also filed a petition with President Joe Biden to approve a major disaster statement, allowing Texans to request individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for damage to their homes as long as it is not covered by insurance.
Abbott also said the process has begun to reform ERCOT, the agency that oversees the flower of power to the majority of the state.
Meeting records show that five days before the storm hit, ERCOT CEO Bill Magness told the group’s board of directors, “We are ready for the icy temps coming our way.”
Referring to Magness’s words, the governor said ERCOT failed every measure it took to ensure the state was prepared for the winter storm.
Abbott said he has asked the Texas Legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT, asked them to make winterization of generators and the power system mandatory, and called for funding for winterization.
ERCOT has been heavily criticized over the past week after widespread and protracted power outages left nearly four million residents in darkness and without heat for days on end as an unprecedented winter storm swept across the state.
On Monday, the agency ordered power transmission companies like Oncor to set up power outages to protect the state’s power grid from uncontrolled power outages statewide.
In addition to power demand, ERCOT said 40% of the state’s generators had gone offline. Those generators produced 46,000 megawatts – enough energy to power 9.2 million homes.
The scrap was intended for cycling between households for short periods, but Oncor has said that the large amount of cargo that had to be shed gave them little room to turn scraps.
“Everyone knows how challenging the past few days have been for our fellow Texans,” said Abbott. “I want everyone to know that all of us in the state of Texas think it is completely unacceptable that you endure a minute of the challenge you faced. We all agree on the need for action … the action to get you never have to endure anything like this again. ”
While people struggle with the bitter cold and lack of power, many also face water shortages due to pipes freezing and bursting.
Of the approximately 7,000 drinking water systems in the state, 797 report some type of problem due to a lack of power, frozen or broken pipes, or high demand, said Toby Baker, the executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Seven hundred and twenty-five are under a boiling water notice, affecting 13 million people in the state, he said.
Nim Kidd, the chief of the Texans Division of Emergency Management, said the agency is working with federal, state and local partners to obtain generators and equip them for facilities that need power, such as nursing homes and hospitals.
They are also working to ensure that water and ready meals are distributed and that food banks and groceries have access to the resources they need.
To find a local warming center, go to tdem.texas.gov/warm or call 211 for more information.
Abbott said Texans who want to help can visit FeedingTexas.org or the American Red Cross.