People all across Houston are bundling up and prepping their homes ahead of the anticipated cold weather in southeast Texas this week. With a Winter Storm Watch already in place, Houstonians have been advised to be ready for low temperatures, frigid winds, and yes, even some snow.
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When it comes to dealing with snow in Texas’ largest city, one of the most concerning factors people worry about is the grid. In previous years, Houstonians have been left without power because of rolling outages caused by the higher demand in the conditions.
This begs the question: Should the people of Houston expect to see rolling power outages caused by this week’s storms? An expert doesn’t think so.
Doug Lewin, the author of the Texas Energy and Power Newsletter and the host of the Energy Capital Podcast, said he believes the odds of ERCOT ordering rolling outages due to supply issues are “highly unlikely.”
“I do not expect rolling outages caused by too much demand and too little supply over the next few days,” Lewin’s newsletter read. “Of course, things can change but it’s highly unlikely, based on current forecasts, that there would be rolling outages ordered by ERCOT. That’s mostly a function of temperature. This system simply will not be as cold as systems in 2022 and 2024, much less 2021.”
Even so, Lewin added that the snow and ice could cause outages on the distribution side of the grid this week.
“The average statewide low will likely stay well above Heather (15°) and Elliott (13°) and way above Uri (6°),” Lewin continued. “If temperatures get lower than expected, we would see both higher demand driven by inefficient heat in poorly insulated homes and lower supply from freeze-offs in the oil and gas fields and power plant outages.”
Because of these unpredictable factors, Houstonians are advised to get ahead of the freeze TONIGHT. Make sure all of your batteries are charged in the event of outages and cover your plants and outdoor faucets.
It’s also important to prioritize the four Ps: people, pets, pipes and plants.
You can read more from Lewin here.