Many people in the state still do not have power, and millions have had their water service disrupted.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Winter Storm 2021
Hospitals in Austin are running out of water, forcing some to transfer patients
St. David’s South Austin Medical Center said a series of problems began after it lost water pressure from the city Wednesday. Seton hospitals in the area are also facing water problems.
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Winter Storm 2021
Texas power outages: Officials warn of low water supply; nearly 3 million households without electricity
We’re tracking the fallout from the massive winter storm in Texas, which has brought widespread power outages and transportation problems.
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Winter Storm 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott and other Republicans blamed green energy for Texas’ power woes. But the state runs on fossil fuels.
Green energy has been a political punching bag for Texas Republicans like Gov. Greg Abbott throughout the winter storm. Experts say that politicians never take responsibility for natural disasters when it comes to preparedness.
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Winter Storm 2021
No, frozen wind turbines aren’t the main culprit for Texas’ power outages
Lost wind power was expected to be a fraction of winter generation. All sources — from natural gas, to nuclear, to coal, to solar — have struggled to generate power during the storm that has left millions of Texans in the dark.
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Winter Storm 2021
Gov. Greg Abbott, other top Texas officials call for resignations and investigations at electrical grid operator
“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours,” Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.
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Winter Storm 2021
Texas largely relies on natural gas for power. It wasn’t ready for the extreme cold.
Texas largely relies on natural gas — especially during times of high demand — to power the state. Experts say natural gas infrastructure, from pumping it out of the ground to the plants in city centers, was unprepared for the plunging temperatures brought by the winter storm.
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Guides
Texplainer: Why does Texas have its own power grid?
Basically, Texas has its own grid to avoid dealing with — you guessed it — the feds. But grid independence has been violated a few times over the years — not even counting Mexico’s help during blackouts in 2011.
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Winter Storm 2021
Photos: Texans face an ice storm that’s left millions of people without power
An arctic blast barreled though Texas over Valentines Day weekend. Temperatures plummeted and ice and snow blanketed the entire state, leaving millions of people without electricity. Texas Tribune photographers fanned out across the state to record the historic cold snap. Here’s what they saw.
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Winter Storm 2021
“Crisis upon crisis”: Industrial pollutants leave San Angelo residents without water as winter storm bears down
In some areas of the West Texas city, the state found concentrations of benzene, a known carcinogen, to be 35 times the safe limit. For other chemicals identified in the water, no concentration is considered safe.