Rolling blackouts were ordered across Texas after a rare winter storm gripped the state. The decision left about 5 million people without power as temperatures dropped to subzero levels in some parts. The cold wave was experienced in the northern part of Mexico as well. The power cuts took place early on Monday morning and supply had been restored to almost half of the consumers around midday.
An emergency was declared on Monday by President Joe Biden, unlocking federal assistance to Texas.
“The Texas power grid has not been compromised. The ability of some companies that generate the power has been frozen,” Governor Greg Abbott wrote on Twitter. “They are working to get generation back online,” Abbott added. The governor also deployed the National Guard to help restore electricity.
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The weather caused Houston’s Hobby Airport to cease operations till noon and the George Bush International Airport announced it would stay shut till 1pm. Houston authorities also urged people to conserve energy by turning down the thermostat to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, unplugging non-essential lights and appliances, open curtains to let natural light in and shut curtains at night to reduce heat loss.
Controlled power outages continued till Tuesday morning, Dan Woodfin, director of systems operations at ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), told Reuters. Medical centres are rushing to administer vaccines and police stations have been operating on emergency generators.
