Overnight extreme weather in east Texas temporarily adds new outages

So, I just read this article about how east Texas got hit with some crazy weather that caused new power outages. Basically, the temperature dropped 50 degrees in just a few hours, which is insane! It went from 85 degrees to 35 degrees. And, as you can imagine, people weren’t ready for that kind of drastic change.

So, because people were cranking up their heaters and using more electricity than usual, the power grid got overloaded and started shutting off in some areas. Which, of course, led to more outages. It’s kind of a vicious cycle.

What’s interesting, though, is that the outages were temporary. As soon as the power company was able to balance the load and stabilize the grid, they were able to start turning things back on. But still, it’s a reminder of how fragile our power systems can be.

Personally, I’ve seen how bad weather can mess with things firsthand. A couple of years ago, I was living in a small town in Colorado when a massive blizzard hit. We were without power for three days, which was not fun. But at least we had a fireplace and some blankets to keep us warm. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be without power in the freezing cold for an extended period of time.

All in all, this article is a reminder of how important it is to have reliable and stable power grids. We depend on electricity for so much these days, from keeping our homes warm to working from home during a pandemic. Hopefully, this event will serve as a wake-up call for those in charge to invest in more robust infrastructure.