[ad_1]
LONG LINES: Outside of the few stores that are open, there are long lines in the big city of Austin. Photo: Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman / AP / NTB
AUSTIN / OSLO (VG) Several million are without power for the second day in a row, the death toll is increasing and it is still lower. – Critical, says Houston rapporteur Sylvester Turner.
– Too many in Texas have been without electricity and heat in their homes, while the state has negative degrees and severe winter weather. This is unacceptable, “said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
As of Tuesday night, local time surpasses 3.3 million without power in Texas, according to poweroutage.us, and many have been without power for several days. The governor will now investigate the electricity company ERCOT, responsible for electricity in the state.
– They have been anything but reliable for the last 48 hours. We want to find out what has gone wrong and how we can find a solution for the future.
Background: All Texas: State of Emergency and −22 degrees
KEEP THE HEAT: In the bee, María Pineda keeps the heat, while waiting to recover energy. Photo: Jay Janner / Austin American-Statesman / AP / NTB
At the local level in the state capital, the explanation was first that power outages must be controlled, and a maximum of 40 minutes. In practice, these power outages have lasted two days and the explanation now is that you fear that the entire electrical grid will break if you turn it on again.
– It’s critic. It’s critical that we get our power back on as soon as possible – that’s our first priority, says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
– I know people are cursed and frustrated. Me too, continue.
In the city, around 1.3 million people lack electricity.
“This is worse than a hurricane,” Natalie Harrell told the Associated Press. With her four children, she has gone to one of the 35 shelters that Texas has opened to help people without electricity.
Here’s how journalist Dan Rather describes the situation:
Great contrasts
VG is located about 260 km west of Houston, in another large city: Austin.
Here the contrasts could not have been greater, and this is the case in much of the state. On what can be called beautiful Norwegian winter days with sunshine, fresh snow and a few degrees below zero, children play in the streets and use water toys like a sled board.
In the background are concerned parents and other adults waiting for power to return. Many failed to buy and there has been a four to five hour queue at the stores that have been open. Many people fill their bathtubs with water for fear that the water network will also collapse.
– We are very angry. My neighbor is also angry that there is no reason to let the whole neighborhood freeze to death, Amber Nichols tells the AP news agency.
TOYS: While adults worry when the power will return, children play in winter. Photo: Juan Figueroa / The Dallas Morning News / AP / NTB
In recent days, at least 21 people have died as a result of cold, wintry weather in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri, writes the Reuters news agency. Among them, a grandmother and three children died in a fire, which probably started when they tried to keep warm.
On top of all this, they are in the middle of a pandemic. In Texas, more than 2.5 million coronavirus cases have been reported and nearly 42,000 deaths are related to the pandemic. On Tuesday, more than 8,000 were hospitalized with covid-19, while 120 new deaths and 4,500 new cases were recorded.
– Extremely frustrating
ERCOT CEO Bill Magness tells CBS that they work 24 hours a day to regain power.
– It’s extremely frustrating. It is not just now. Our work is 24 hours a day throughout the year. This climate has been a great challenge for us in supplying electricity, he says.
ERCOT, or Texas Electric Reliability Council, as they are called, is an independent Texas state-owned electric company. They represent about 90 percent of all energy deals in the state.
– What we have now is an extraordinary demand, he says, and it refers to the fact that the temperatures are abnormally low.
– The first priority is to recover energy for as many people as possible, but we must do it safely for the system to last, he adds.
WILL INVESTIGATE: Governor Greg Abbott. Photo: Eli Hartman / Odessa American / AP / NTB
He fully understands that people are impatient.
– Living without electricity in these conditions is terrible, but the catastrophic result I am talking about is if we let the system crash. So we wouldn’t talk about when we can recover the energy, then we would talk about building the system. It would not be possible to do it in a few days. So people can be without power for long periods.
Top Democrat Hillary Clinton is also involved:
Joshua Rhodes, who works with electricity at the University of Texas at Austin, says the system is not built for the weather they have seen in recent days.
– We must have plans for such weather to occur. It is said that it will never reach Texas, but now it has, he says.
He is supported by his colleague Ed Hirs from the University of Houston.
– That’s silly. Every eight or ten years we have such winters. This cannot be a surprise.
