Natural gas producers hit the jackpot during the power outages, but they failed Texas The electrical grid is only as reliable as its fuel supply. A man walks home with a case of drinking water distributed at the Literacy Achieves nonprofit in Vickery Meadows to nearby residents living without water after a winter storm brought snow and continued freezing temperatures to North Texas on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021, in Dallas. (Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News)(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) By Peter Cramton . Millions of Texans went without electricity for days in the cold. Winter Storm Uri left 111 dead. Property damage totaled $130 billion. Yet, many natural gas producers reaped tens of billions in windfall profits in four freezing February days.