Scorching Temperatures Challenge Texas’ Power Grid and Test Patience as Southern Residents Remain Without Electricity

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Amidst a relentless heat wave enveloping Texas and large portions of the southern United States, the state’s power grid operator appealed to residents on Tuesday to voluntarily reduce electricity consumption. Anticipating record-breaking demand, the power system faced a severe strain due to triple-digit temperatures persisting across the region. Frustration mounted as outages, stemming from weekend storms and tornadoes that inflicted widespread damage, continued unabated.

Residents in Mississippi’s capital revealed that they had endured nearly 100 hours without power or air conditioning, surpassing the duration of outages experienced during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Entergy Mississippi, the state’s primary electric utility, deployed its workforce in grueling 16-hour shifts since Friday, yet some officials expressed concerns regarding its level of preparedness.

High temperatures in the state were projected to climb to 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday.

Brent Bailey, a member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission responsible for energy regulation, criticized the delayed restoration efforts, stating, “The prolonged power outage has caused significant hardship for their customers, and this is unacceptable.”

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), serving the majority of the state’s nearly 30 million residents, made its first request of the year for energy conservation. While ERCOT stated that it was not facing emergency conditions, it acknowledged that the state had unofficially set a June record for energy demand on Monday.

In West Texas’ oil patch, San Angelo experienced an all-time high temperature of 114 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

Texans have harbored doubts about the state’s power grid ever since a deadly ice storm in 2021 left millions without electricity for days. Although Republican Governor Greg Abbott claimed improvements had bolstered grid stability, scrutiny of these ongoing improvement efforts persists.

In neighboring Oklahoma, over 100,000 customers eagerly awaited the restoration of power and air conditioning following weekend storms that toppled trees and snapped hundreds of utility poles. Officials warned that the prolonged outages, which may endure until the weekend for some residents, had already claimed at least one life in Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency on Tuesday due to storm damage, including numerous downed power lines.

In Louisiana, more than 51,000 electricity customers remained without power on Tuesday due to the storms that wreaked havoc on over 800 structures in Shreveport alone, according to Mayor Tom Arceneaux. Repairs for over a dozen major transmission lines were still pending.

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This report includes contributions from Michael Goldberg in Jackson, Mississippi, and Andrew DeMillo in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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• Texas’ power grid operator asks residents to voluntarily cut back on electricity
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