Convenience Big Store: Power grid should handle freeze 'with ease,' Abbott says

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"One thing that we do know is with the ultra-cold temperatures for several days, there are many people in the state of Texas who may be concerned about the power grid," Gov. Greg Abbott said. "But we expect the grid to remain up and running very robustly during this very cold snap."

Gov. Greg Abbott: Freeze won't trouble power grid

Gov. Greg Abbott held a news conference Wednesday to reassure Texans that the power grid would be secure throughout the expected freeze beginning Thursday night through the weekend.

While Abbott warned that the dangerous temperatures could lead to sharply higher electricity demand, he said the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the nonprofit that manages the power grid, should be able to handle the demand "with ease."

The news conference came after ERCOT and the state's power generators have prepared their facilities for more than a week for this storm and for months in the wake of the deadly 2021 storm that caused widespread blackouts and was linked to hundreds of deaths.

The weather is expected to be the coldest since the 2021 storm, but due to the lack of precipitation, there should be less ice.

Read the full story here.

Edward McKinley
State Government Reporter
edward.mckinley@chron.com

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What We're Reading

• The Secret Abortions of Texas (The New Yorker)

• Texas green-lit a felon to train school board members. Now education officials are examining their rules. (The Texas Tribune)

• Texas drops its defense of a law that bans young adults from carrying handguns in public (The Dallas Morning News)

• With arctic storm blast approaching, migrants in Texas are sleeping on the streets (NBC News)

One last thing…

In a series of tweets Wednesday, Rep. Chip Roy slammed Sen. John Cornyn and 20 other Senate Republicans who supported the spending bill in a procedural vote Tuesday, saying they "represent the tired old #SwampGOP."

"They are who they are: war-first Republicans who give lip service to securing the border & stopping deficit spending during campaigns, yet are voting right now to support (fund) the opposite."