Texas Outage: About a third of Texans still have problems with their water supply

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While that number has decreased by several million over the day, more than 1,200 public water systems still reported service failures, many of which resulted in boiling water, according to Gary Rasp, media specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The problems still affected more than 8.8 million people – or about a third of the state’s 29 million residents – across 199 counties as of Sunday 7 p.m. (8 p.m. ET). Grater said 258 boiling water messages had been withdrawn.

At a press conference Sunday afternoon, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said that about 30,000 people were without power in his state.

“Based on the speed at which I have restored power, I suspect that later tonight or tomorrow all power in the state of Texas to every home will be fully restored,” Abbott said.

The governor said water services are being restored across Texas and more than 3 million bottles of water have been distributed in an effort by the Texas National Guard, the United States Department of Defense and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Warmer weather and the return of electricity have provided some relief for Texans, but many are left without clean water or in homes damaged by broken pipes and flooding.

So does Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, a Republican, who told CBS ‘Face the Nation’ on Sunday that her own home was under water. She said her insurance will cover the damage, but that may not be the case for other Texans.

“At some point we’re going to need additional plumbers and resources, but there are still going to be dollars to help those people who can’t afford this themselves … and that will come from the federal government,” Price said.

At his press conference Sunday, Abbott said uninsured residents with blown pipes may be eligible for FEMA compensation.

“We have received FEMA support from the federal government, and part of that is individual assistance that helps people whose homes or apartments have been damaged by the winter storm,” he said.

Cracking pipes and surprising electricity bills

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, noted how widespread the water problems are for many.

“Let me say that now, with so many houses in the city with pipes bursting due to the cold weather and major leaks, major water damage, we need a lot of plumbing materials and supplies,” he said.

“We have a number of licensed plumbers, but we can use even more,” said Turner. “Most importantly, even when plumbers go out, it is very difficult to find the necessary materials and supplies.”

Here's how a week of catastrophic weather unfolded in Texas
Additionally, some Texans are facing unprecedented price increases in their utility bills as a result of the recent storm. Dallas resident DeAndre Upshaw said he received a $ 7,000 bill from his electric utility, which charges customers at market rates.
Texas utility regulator, the Texas Public Utility Commission, said Saturday that it is investigating “the factors that, coupled with devastating winter weather, are disrupting power to millions of homes in Texas.”

Moratorium on disconnections

Abbott announced at his press conference on Sunday that the state public utility commission had issued a moratorium on disconnecting customers for non-payment to address the “skyrocketing utility bills” that some Texans would be facing.

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He said the committee would also restrict electricity suppliers from sending customer invoices at this point.

“Texans who have suffered days of freezing cold without power should not be subject to skyrocketing utility bills due to a spike in the energy market,” Abbott said.

The governor said he had an emergency meeting with legislative leaders “to protect Texas families from unreasonable bills” as a result of the winter storms.

“This is something that is being accelerated, that lawmakers are currently working on. … We will have meetings this week to find out, as well as to provide relief and support to our fellow Texans,” Abbott said.

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When asked about legislation to restore the state’s energy infrastructure, Abbott said, “We will not end this session until the state of Texas – and all of its power generation capabilities – are fully winterized.”

In a later statement, the commission said it had issued a series of orders “to protect Texas electricity customers as leaders in the state are considering solutions to the financial aftershocks of the winter storm.”

In addition to the moratorium, the commission ordered the continuation of a Covid-19 measure requiring electricity suppliers to offer deferment plans to customers upon request.

It also “strongly urged” electricity retailers to delay billing for residential and small commercial electricity customers.

“The warrant and guidelines are intended to be temporary, probably until the end of this week, to address the potential financial consequences that are particularly challenging at this extremely difficult time,” said Chairman DeAnn Walker.

The winter weather also caused significant delays in vaccinations against Covid-19 across the country, but the backlog is only temporary, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday.

“The number was that six million doses were delayed, we pulled out two million and we expect to have caught up by mid-week,” Fauci told NBC’s Chuck Todd.

CNN’s Anjali Huynh, Chuck Johnston and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.

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