Millions of Texans are forced to run out of electricity while it is unprecedented cold. The US state power grid operator is temporarily shutting down nearly 3 million customers to avoid an uncontrolled power outage while there is a record demand for electricity due to the cold.
The National Guard is used to transport elderly residents to shelters. Texas reservists are helping local government agencies transfer residents to 135 cold-weather shelters set up in the United States’ second-largest state, Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement Monday.
The grid operator takes turns interrupting the supply to customers. The authorities are calling for power consumption to be limited. Due to the cold, not all fuels can be used for generators. The bad weather also nearly halved the production of wind energy.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson tweeted saying: the agency “needs to answer” for all of the outages Texans are experiencing.
I have been as frustrated as everyone else today. I know this has been extraordinarily difficult. These power outages are unacceptable, and ERCOT needs to answer for them.
— Mayor Eric Johnson (@Johnson4Dallas) February 16, 2021
US President Biden declared a state of emergency for Texas to allow aid after temperatures of -2 to -22 degrees were measured. With Texas, much of the United States was in the grip of winter. There were also power cuts in Louisiana, bordering Texas. Even in Mexico, at least 400,000 customers of the grid operator were without electricity.
The situation with @ERCOT_ISO is very serious and unprecedented. If your conservation efforts and rolling blackouts are not successful,control of the grid could be lost. @oncor is working closely with my office and emergency managers…:
— Clay Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) February 15, 2021
Dozens of the calls have been related to the power outages, with hypothermia and oxygen device issues being some of the primary concerns. Nineteen people have been treated for hypothermia, officials said.
MedStar has responded to 201 EMS calls so far today, 36.7% more calls than the same timeframe last Monday. 41 of the responses related to power outages; hypothermia and patients who’s oxygen devices are not working without power. 19 patients have been treated for hypothermia.
— MedStar EMS Alerts (@MedStarEMSInfo) February 15, 2021