Answers to Your Exasperated Winter Weather Power Outage Questions
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We as Texans stick together when the going gets tough. And when the tough freeze over, we’re here with some answers to your winter weather questions.
Is Texas experiencing rolling blackouts?
Yes, but they’re not rolling. Early Monday morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the statewide entity that manages a majority of Texas’ power grid, issued an Energy Emergency Alert (EEA3) — its highest state of emergency — because “electric demand is very high right now and supplies can’t keep up.” According to ERCOT, “Reserves have dropped below 1,000 MW and are not expected to recover within 30 minutes; as a result, ERCOT has ordered transmission companies to reduce demand on the system.”
This is typically done through controlled rotating outages, but we’re past that point. Power outages may last until Tuesday, Oncor says. “This type of demand reduction is only used as a last resort to preserve the reliability of the electric system as a whole.”
Here’s a dashboard for Real-Time System Conditions of our Texas energy grid.
The numbers to look at are in the second set of boxes. “Actual System Demand” and “Total System Capacity.” Right now, the margins of actual system demand and system capacity are razor-thin. But not the thinnest operating reserves we’ve seen. Overnight monitoring the real-time conditions, demand to capacity was just over 1,000 MW.
ERCOT began asking consumers and businesses to reduce their electricity use on Sunday, Feb. 14, reporting that wind turbines froze over and output is down.
“We are experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped Texas,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in a statement Sunday. “At the same time, we are dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines and limited natural gas supplies available to generating units. We are asking Texans to take some simple, safe steps to lower their energy use during this time.”
Now, we know that’s not really the case.
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Don’t Blame Wind Turbines for Texas’ Massive Power Outages
That day, Governor Greg Abbott said on Twitter, “The Texas power grid has not been compromised.”
How long do rolling blackouts last?
According to ERCOT, rotating outages primarily affect residential neighborhoods and small businesses and are typically limited to 10 to 45 minutes before being rotated to another location. However, Oncor is saying the outages could last until Tuesday.
Oncor was the first to kill the 10-minute rolling outage narrative on Monday, saying outages could last until Tuesday. Now, they don’t know when the grid will stabilize. “At this time, ERCOT is unable to predict when grid conditions will stabilize, and urge all customers to be prepared for extended outages to continue,” Oncor said Tuesday.
The alert at noon Monday: “Due to the severity of the electric generation shortfall, our expected outage length of 15 to 45 minutes has been significantly extended. Outages due to this electric emergency could last for hours and we ask you to be prepared.” Then, Oncor revised it Monday afternoon saying, “The length of controlled outages have been significantly extended. These outages … could be required through Tuesday. We are asking all Oncor customers to be prepared to be without power for an extended period of time.”
Oncor said on Tuesday morning it was able to rotate some outages overnight — when temperatures dropped to -1 degree in some areas— but was not successful in rotating all outages.
“Oncor was able to rotate some outages overnight, but poor grid conditions have continued to prevent us and other utilities from rotating, or rolling, the entirety of these outages, leading to extended periods without power for many of our customers,” Oncor said in a statement.
Meanwhile, nearly 1 million customers in Texas are reporting power outages, many locally suffering outages of 24 hours or more.
How long will my power outage last?
Oncor doesn’t know. Typically, you can go to the Oncor Stormcenter Dashboard for detailed outage information in your neighborhood. Typically, this would be your resource for getting an ETA on when your lights are coming back on, but all the “Estimated Restoration” numbers are showing at “Currently Unknown.” When you zoom way in, you can see specifically which neighborhoods are currently experiencing outages.
For detailed outage information about your home, text OUT to 66267 to report an outage to Oncor, then follow the prompts. They will send estimates and updates of restoration time, and then often send a text back when the outage has been fixed and ask for confirmation that it’s actually fixed at your location.
Oncor says customers do not need to report their outages at this time, saying they’re working in close coordination with ERCOT to protect the integrity of the Texas grid.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins spoke to Oncor, which said it cannot guarantee a maximum amount of time your power may be out.
What are ERCOT and Oncor doing?
Everything they can(-ish). Remember ERCOT is the big fish and Oncor and other utility providers such as Garland Power and Light, Denton Municipal Electric, and Texas-New Mexico Power are the small fish taking direction from ERCOT to reduce demand on the system.
Jenkins reported on Twitter Monday afternoon that some peaker plants — Texas’ network of reserve oil- and gas-fired power plants — have come online or are ramping up now.
Governor Greg Abbott said Monday afternoon 200,000 customers are back online and more are expected. Another 400,000 homes had power restored Tuesday morning, Abbott tweeted optimistically saying, “Expect more during the day.”
However, by Tuesday afternoon, his tune had changed. “ERCOT has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Abbott said in a statement. “Far too many Texans are without power and heat for their homes as our state faces freezing temperatures and severe winter weather. This is unacceptable.”
He’s ordering an investigation into ERCOT’s last of preparation and transparency.
ERCOT has not been reporting specifics publicly via social media and press releases. Its most recent news release was sent on late Monday, saying the Public Utility Commission had granted ERCOT’s request to charge higher prices based on the scarcity of natural gas).
Why are some homes out of power for hours and others not at all?
If you’re near critical infrastructure buildings such as fire stations, hospitals, and utilities like pump stations, you’re less likely to have power outages than homes further away.
“Customers near critical facilities, or those in limited areas where rolling outages won’t take place in order to maintain grid stability, may not experience outages, while those farther from these facilities or areas may be out multiple times or for longer instances,” Oncor says.
Furthermore, sometimes neighborhoods operate on different sets of lines or circuits. That’s why you may not have power, but your neighbor across the street does.
More Resources
How to Keep Your Pipes From Freezing (And What To Do If They Freeze Anyway)
Many homes in North Texas are built on pier-and-beam foundations, which can make pipes particularly susceptible to freezing if not properly insulated. We’ve compiled some tips to keep your pipes from freezing, signs they may be frozen, and what to do if they freeze anyway.
