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Hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses in in Austin remain without power due to outages amid a winter storm.
Austin Energy which serves a 437-square-mile area, including Austin and portions of Travis, Williamson and Hays counties was required to dramatically reduce the share of its energy usage to ease the strain on a statewide power grid, according to General Manager Jacqueline Sargent.
Other energy providers in the state had to do the same, leaving millions of Texas households without power. The statewide grid is controlled by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, otherwise known as ERCOT.
Winter storm: 2,600+ flights canceled as Austin airport closes, Houston airports delay restart Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY
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The misery brought on by Monday s record-breaking winter storm continues to create havoc for travelers in the South, especially in Texas.
Dallas Fort Worth International and Nashville International Airport remain open but both caution that they expected more flights to be canceled or delayed. DFW tweeted that Tuesday s -2℉ temperature had matched a 121-year-old record. Meanwhile, Trinity Railway Express, DART commuter train line said it was shutting down until Thursday.
DFW led the entire world in cancellations and flight delays as of 12:30 p.m. EST Tuesday morning, followed by Houston Bush Intercontinental. Nationwide, there were more than 2,600 flight cancellations and more than 900 delays, according to FlightAware.com. Hobby, Austin, and Nashville were also in the top 10 worldwide. Dallas-based Southwest
Find more resources and mutual aid groups in the Texas Tribune’s list here
Where to donate
Donate to Kids’ Meals, which provides meals to Houston-area children experiencing food insecurity
Volunteer with or donate to Crowdsource Rescue, which works to get vulnerable residents to safety and delivers supplies
Find more ways to contribute here, here, here, and here.
Texans, however, may be shivering more than others, with some of the coldest temperatures in 30 years, and some of the biggest power grid problems. More than 4.2 million customers had lost power as of Tuesday morning, when temperatures dipped as low as 4 degrees Fahrenheit lower than Anchorage, Alaska in cities like Dallas. Flights were canceled out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. On Sunday, President Joe Biden approved a state of emergency declaration for Texas following a request from Gov. Greg Abbott.