More than 3.5 million Texans remain without power — and providers say it could last through the night
An unprecedented winter storm has left millions of Texas households without power, with no indication of when they'll get it back.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 3.78 million Texas households and utility customers without power, according to the power tracking website PowerOutage.US. Most of those people haven't had power since Monday and even Sunday amid below-freezing temperatures, and Austin Energy warned Tuesday afternoon that its Austin-area customers should be prepared for outages to extend to at least Wednesday.
Outage numbers have barely improved since early Tuesday morning, with Texas' independent energy grid operator ERCOT saying Tuesday it restored power to only about 400,000 homes. ERCOT simply doesn't have the megawatts it needs to restore power as natural gas, coal, and even nuclear power plants ran into problems with the extreme cold. Some cities have even been forced to shut off their water supplies or at least declare boil water orders due to the power issues. Bipartisan lawmakers are already calling for hearings and investigations into ERCOT's generation issues, with Gov. Greg Abbott (R) declaring ERCOT reform an "emergency" the legislature needs to fix as soon as possible.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
At least 10 people in the Houston area have died from weather-related causes, including car accidents and suspected carbon monoxide poisoning as people leave stoves and cars running too long to get some heat. Meanwhile temperatures aren't supposed to return to the 50s and 60s until Saturday, and another round of snow and freezing rain is expected across the state Tuesday evening.
Read more about what went wrong with Texas' power grid at The Week.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Cicada-geddon: the fungus that controls insects like 'zombies'
Under The Radar Expert says bugs will develop 'hypersexualisation' despite their genitals falling off
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published