Gov. Rick Perry's office sent us this statement:
"Because of winter weather conditions that have created an unprecedented demand on the state's energy grid, many Texans across our state are experiencing power outages today," Gov. Perry said. "Texas power and emergency management experts are working very closely with ERCOT and various utility providers to ensure power is restored as quickly as possible. Until that happens, I urge businesses and residents to conserve electricity to minimize the impact of this event." The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Grid Operations has asked utilities/transmission providers to implement rolling outages to compensate for a generation shortage due to numerous power plant outages occurring as a result of the extreme weather. For more information from ERCOT, please call 512-225-7065 or visit http://www.ercot.com The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) has issued the following information to customers: • Rotating outages will be limited in duration to between 10-45 minutes, unless equipment trips due to a power surge during the restoration process. • Customers can minimize the chance power surges will occur by turning off all but essential appliances, lights and other electrical equipment. • Minimize unnecessary travel, as traffic signals may go out of service, resulting in traffic jams. For more information from PUC, call 888-782-8477 or visit their website at http://www.puc.state.tx.us Additionally, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is using its enforcement discretion for all power generating facilities during this rolling outage period. Power generating facilities have authorized maximum emission limits, as well as authorized peaking units for dealing with high demand periods. Violations of these limits will be treated with enforcement discretion as power plants respond to the current power emergency brought on by this extremely cold weather. For additional information from TCEQ, please call 512-239-2526 or visit http://www.tceq.state.tx.us The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has also deployed resources to respond to this winter weather event. Maintenance crews are removing snow and ice in regions hardest hit by winter precipitation. TxDOT personnel will continue to spread anti-icing and de-icing materials on major highways, bridges and overpasses in 12-hour shifts until conditions improve. For additional information, please call 800-452-9292 or visit http://www.txdot.state.tx.us The State Operations Center continues to work closely with the National Weather Service to monitor this winter weather system as it moves across Texas.
