Emergency weather related state updates from Gov. Abbott

Governor Abbott calls on industrial curtailment of power usage due to severe weather

Governor Greg Abbott is calling for all industrial electricity customers to curtail power consumption to the lowest possible level or shut down if at all possible, unless you are transporting gas or exporting power.  Governor Abbott emphasizes that this is a critical situation and has indicated that he will single out companies if they continue to make products after the issuance of this order.  If you are an air separator producing industrial gases vital to health and safety, you are excluded from this order.

Overnight, ERCOT lost approximately 30,000 MW of thermal generation and also lost one of the nuclear units at the South Texas Powerplant.  Utilities are rotating all available distribution circuits and it is not enough.   Therefore, the Governor is ordering industrial sites to take this necessary action.

Governor Abbott suspends TCEQ rules for severe winter weather

Governor Greg Abbott has suspended the TCEQ rules necessary for regulated entities to take appropriate actions in response to the severe winter weather event. The suspension is limited to the extent the rules actually do prevent, hinder, or delay necessary action in coping with this disaster. Any suspension is limited to the duration of the disaster and is restricted to those counties set forth in the Proclamation referenced above, including any amendments. All regulated entities should take all available actions necessary to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and permit requirements to protect the health and safety of Texans and the environment. Regulated entities must prepare and maintain records related to the actions and suspended rules, as they bear the burden of demonstrating that noncompliance was necessary. The delay of report submittals should be minimized and resume as soon as feasible. It should be noted that some of these rules may have federal counterparts in statute or regulation and this suspension would not apply to such federal counterparts.

ERCOT forced to start rolling blackouts

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has begun rolling blackouts across the state.  The controlled outages are necessary due to increased power demand related to the extreme weather across the state.

ERCOT has indicated that these controlled outages should be limited to approximately one-hour intervals and are necessary to safely maintain the state’s power distribution system.

ERCOT urges customers to conserve electricity usage by lowering their thermostats, turning off unneeded lights and avoid using large appliances like washing machines and dryers.