AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott joined state public safety and energy officials on Thursday morning for a briefing on grid reliability, travel, and disaster preparation ahead of this weekend’s winter weather across the state.
Abbott announced he will be putting a disaster declaration in place for 134 counties ahead of freezing temperatures and icy conditions expected between Friday and Monday.
ALSO | Freezing temperatures, icy conditions in central Texas to begin Saturday evening
The governor and utility officials do not expect any loss of power from the grid, but are encouraging people to prepare for possible localized outages.
“The ERCOT grid has never been stronger,” Abbott said.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas explained that since the devastating winter storm in 2021, the state has added energy reserves that will allow the grid to stay online during the storm.
RELATED | ERCOT assures readiness as icy conditions prompt weather watch for Texas power grid
The governor added that power providers are pre-positioned to work on getting power lines back up in case they go down.
He also explained an ongoing effort to remove vegetation from power lines will also help keep power lines from being damaged.
TxDOT executive director Marc Williams is asking Texans to pay attention to road conditions and stay home if roads are icy or slick.
“Any amount of ice is a dangerous amount of ice,” Williams said.
Williams also reminded drivers to leave room for TxDOT crews that will be on the road this weekend.
Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd said there are 281 warming shelters opening across the state.
Comment with Bubbles
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
Kidd asked Texans to remember to keep flammable items away from space heaters and be aware of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning from generators.