Texas Braces for Cold Snap as Natural Gas Pipeline Block; Electric Blackout Worries Increase

Arctic air has poured into Texas this week as temperatures plunge well below freezing. Texas regulators have reassured the public multiple times the principal grid operator for Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), will have the capacity to supply energy to houses and businesses as heating demand increases. “The grid is ready, and the lights will stay on for Texans,” Peter Lake, chairman of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. He claimed earlier in the day that ERCOT “doesn’t anticipate any rolling blackouts at all.” Weather forecasts anticipate a heavy frost in the Lone Star State through Saturday. Average temperatures have fallen from 60 degrees Ferinhight on Jan. 31 to as low as 25 degrees Ferinhight on Friday. An ice storm is also striking the state and will continue until the end…

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