Texas power outages continue to decline after peaking above 150,000 on Sunday, with East Texas bearing the brunt of winter storm impacts. By Monday morning, the state’s electrical grid remained stable despite icy conditions that left thousands in the dark.
Shelby County in East Texas was among the hardest hit areas, reporting 8,567 outages as of 10 a.m. Monday, according to utility data. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages about 90% of the state’s power load, maintained green operating conditions throughout the weather event, signaling sufficient reserve capacity.
Grid Holds Steady as Outages Concentrated in East
Despite the localized disruptions, Texas appears to have avoided a repeat of the catastrophic 2021 grid failure that left millions without power for days. ERCOT had issued a Weather Watch for January 24-27, but the system has performed as expected. “The power grid operator said earlier this week that expect ample supply to meet power demands this winter,” as Fox4 noted in their coverage.
How bad did it get? By Sunday evening, outage numbers had already begun trending downward from their peak, with approximately 70,000 homes and businesses without electricity, down from 130,000 earlier in the day. Most disruptions were concentrated in East Texas, where ice accumulation on trees and power lines caused the majority of issues.
“The window where we’re going to be monitoring the most for any weather-related power outages is going to be [Sunday] afternoon as those gusty winds come through,” Fowler said, according to the Texas Tribune.
ONCOR, the state’s largest electricity provider, reported 8,700 customers without power out of its 4.1 million customer base by Monday morning. The company attributed most outages to ice accumulation in East Texas communities.
State Response Expands
Governor Greg Abbott has expanded the state’s disaster declaration to include 85 additional counties, bringing the total to 219 across Texas. “Communities across the state have been impacted by this weekend’s winter weather,” said Governor Abbott in a statement from the Texas Division of Emergency Management.
More than 10,900 state emergency responders have been deployed to assist affected communities, with power restoration being a top priority in hard-hit areas.
Entergy, which serves parts of East Texas, confirmed 590 customer outages as of 7 a.m. on January 26. The company emphasized its commitment to restoration efforts, stating, “Safety is our core value and always comes first. Then, restoring power is the top priority and first order of business.”
For many Texans, particularly those in the eastern counties, the winter storm’s impact continues to be felt despite the grid’s overall stability. Power crews are working to restore service, but some residents might face extended outages as damage assessment and repairs continue in ice-affected areas.
That said, the relatively limited scope of outages compared to previous winter emergencies suggests improvements in Texas’s power infrastructure since the 2021 disaster — though for those still huddling in the cold, such progress offers little immediate comfort.
