A rare frigid blast of arctic air coupled with an overnight snowstorm brought historic wintry conditions to Northeast Texas, taking out power for tens of thousands of homes and businesses while also closing schools and businesses.
Electric delivery company Oncor warned early Monday of rolling blackouts ordered by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, some of which could last up to 45 minutes at a time. ERCOT issued the order as Texans strained the stateâs electric grid trying to stay warm as temperatures fell into the single digits and wind chills dipped to below -10.
Lamar Electric Cooperative on Monday said blackouts should last 15 to 20 minutes at a time, and there was no set schedule for when blackouts would occur. Feeders were selected base on varying orders of load to reduce, the company stated in a Facebook post. At the time, ERCOT demand forecasts indicated load would peak around 71,000 MWh on Monday and today, about 8% higher than the all-time 15-minute
The winter storm that brought several inches of snow to the state Sunday has prompted a power emergency Monday forcing millions of Texans to live without heat and electricity as plunging temperatures struggle to climb out of the single digits
FORT WORTH, Texas A frigid record low hit North Texas Monday morning and ERCOT, the electric utility, began rotating outages to reduce the state's demand on energy as Texans tried to keep warm. On Sunday, the entire state of Texas was under a winter warning advisory. And weather forecasters say it may not get above freezing until Friday. At 7 a.m., the temperature was 6 degrees at the .