Annoyance among Texans over the state’s power grid failures following an unprecedented winter storm grew Tuesday as millions of people in the U.S. energy capital continued to suffer from the cold with no guarantee that their electricity and heat will return. soon or will stick once they come back.
“I know people are upset and frustrated,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who woke up to the news that more than 1 million users were still without power in his city. “So am I,” he added.
In total, between 2 and 3 million users in Texas were still without electricity almost two days after a historic snowfall and freezing temperatures caused an increase in the demand for electricity to heat houses that are not used to so much cold, which It overwhelmed the state’s power grid and caused widespread blackouts. More frigid weather was forecast for Tuesday night.
To make matters worse, the expectation that blackouts would be spread evenly among the state’s 30 million users quickly succumbed to cold reality, as some areas of the nation’s largest cities, such as San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, had to bear the brunt of a catastrophic power failure, and in subzero conditions that Texas grid operators knew was coming.
The ruling sparked annoyance and demands for answers around how Texas – whose Republican leaders mocked California last year for the scheduled blackouts that Democratic authorities implemented – failed such a large test on an issue the state is against. proud: its energy independence. And it didn’t limit itself to politics, as irate Texans took to social media to point out that as their neighborhoods froze on Monday evening, downtown skyscrapers were lit up despite desperate requests to conserve energy.
“We are very upset. I spoke with my neighbor; she’s upset too, ”said Amber Nichols, whose north Austin home has been without power since early Monday. “We are all upset that there is no reason to leave entire neighborhoods freezing to death,” he said.
During the blackouts, Harris County emergency authorities reported “multiple deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning” in and around Houston, and reminded people not to start their cars or operate gasoline-powered generators indoors. Authorities said three minors and their grandmother, who are believed to have been trying to keep warm, were also killed in a fire at a suburban Houston home Tuesday morning.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott asked Tuesday that an investigation be opened to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas corporation, which runs the power grid.
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