Texas grid officials say the state is prepared to meet electricity demand ahead of a powerful winter storm that's expected to bring days of freezing temperatures and the chance of ice or snow across parts of the state later this week.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the state's power grid, told The Texas Newsroom on Tuesday that based on expected weather conditions, it "anticipates there will be sufficient generation to meet demand" ahead of the storm.
"ERCOT will continue to deploy all available resources to manage the grid reliably and coordinate closely with the Public Utility Commission, generation providers, and transmission utilities," the council said in a statement.
Subfreezing temperatures are forecast to arrive by Friday as arctic air pushes south into Texas. Forecasters say moisture arriving late Friday night into Saturday could set the stage for hazardous winter weather throughout the state.
"We'll start out with a cold rain across North and Central Texas, and that will quickly devolve into a wintry mix Friday and Saturday, so we're expecting some ice, some snow," said Allison Prater, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Dallas-Fort Worth office.
The most significant impacts are expected late Friday through the weekend, with temperatures plunging well below freezing. Prater said much of Texas could see overnight lows fall freezing, with hard-freeze conditions possible as far south as the Gulf Coast.
There's still a chance parts of Texas could remain below freezing on Monday, but temperatures are expected to begin rebounding up to the lower 40s on Tuesday.
Prater urged Texans to prepare now by stocking emergency supplies at home and in their cars, checking smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and making sure vehicles have enough fuel. She also recommended winterizing homes to prevent burst pipes, monitoring forecasts closely and limiting time outdoors.
The approaching storm comes nearly four years after the February 2021 winter storm, which left millions of Texans without power for days during extreme cold and was blamed for widespread power and water outages. More than 240 people died statewide.
In the years that followed, the state has taken steps to strengthen the power grid during extreme cold, including requiring power plants and transmission facilities to weatherize their equipment. ERCOT says it has conducted thousands of inspections to ensure compliance with those rules, changes it says have improved the grid's resiliency during periods of high demand.
The Texas Newsroom is a public radio journalism collaboration that includes NPR, KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media, KUT in Austin, Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and other stations across the state.