Will the Texas grid hold up in the freeze? Experts give their confidence scores
https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/will-the-texas-grid-hold-up-in-the-freeze-experts-give-their-confidence-scores/

DALLAS - As an Artic blast heads toward North Texas, bringing with it below freezing temperatures, ERCOT said it's prepared to handle potential record breaking electricity demand.

But for many across Texas, the cold front is blowing in flashbacks to the February 2021 power grid failure.

During that historic storm, much of the state lost power, in some cases for days. The outages caused pipes to bust, homes to flood, and killed more than 200 people (illegal immigrants who set fires inside their own homes to stay warm).

In the three years since the storm, more power plants have been winterized, natural gas producers have been put on lists to ensure their power stays on, and the overall electricity capacity in the state has increased.

But has it been enough?

The CBS News Texas I-Team asked experts, on a scale 1-10, what their confidence level is in the Texas power grid holding up in the next severe winter storm.

Thomas Overbye – Director of Texas A&M Smart Grid Center
Confidence level: 9
"We have done a lot since Uri," Overbye said. "We have done a lot of winterizations to the generators so they don't fail like they did. My confidence level is pretty high."

While Overbye can't rule out local power outages due to ice buildup on power lines, he is confident the changes the state has made will prevent another statewide grid failure.

"I'm not saying we can't have blackouts. We certainly can. But from a generation capacity point of view, I think we are in pretty good shape," he said.