Texas prides itself as the world’s ninth largest economy with close to 50 Fortune 500 companies. It is the home to multiple internationally-renowned universities, three major airline hubs and cutting-edge endeavors, ranging from Tesla’s Gigafactory in Austin to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to the SpaceX spaceport outside of Brownsville.
And yet, this wealthy, modern state was brought to its knees on Valentine’s Day. Between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20, Texans experienced an unprecedented failure of their electrical grid and ancillary infrastructure amid statewide freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, however, between the refusal of the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to release documents related to the debacle and the limited incentives for utility companies to be forthcoming, lawmakers, the media and the general public have been left in the dark in terms of understanding the full scope of the adverse effects of the Winter Storm of 2021.
A recent survey by the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston brings to light the direct negative impact the winter storm and ensuing power outage had on the lives of more than 26 million Texans and gauges support for potential policy changes.
According to the survey, between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20, the most visible manifestation of the storm’s negative impact was the loss of electrical power. More than two out of three Texans (69 percent) lost power at some point, with the average person going without power during this time frame for a total of 42 hours. The situation was even more dire for Harris County residents, with 91 percent losing power for an average of 49 hours.
Although much attention has been paid to the storm’s impact on electricity, water challenges were also prevalent. One-half of Texans report they were without running water at some point during this same period, with the average water outage lasting 52 hours. And in Harris County, almost two-thirds were without running water for an average of 56 hours.
Texans also suffered a wide range of other disruptions, ranging from the merely annoying to life threatening. Three out of four Texans experienced difficulty obtaining food or groceries, more than two-thirds lost internet service, slightly less than half had food spoil, a third suffered water damage to their home, and almost a fifth had a member of their immediate family member suffer an injury or illness as a direct result of the storm. And, among those who suffered damage to their home, less than a fifth believe it is very likely that insurance will cover the full amount of the damages.
And, while there were some media reports of Texans leaving to ride out the storm in more comfortable surroundings, our survey indicates fewer than one in 200 Texans left the state. Most remained at home without power, where one-quarter used a gas cooktop or oven to heat their home while more than 1 in 10 used an outdoor grill, smoker or propane heater indoors to keep warm, actions that in several Texas homes resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning fatalities.
What do Texans want to see their elected officials in Austin do to make sure a similar preventable disaster does not occur in the future? The most popular policy proposals are those that would require electrical generation companies (78 percent support) and natural gas pipeline companies (78 percent) to fully weatherize their infrastructure and for electrical generation companies to also maintain a minimum reserve capacity (78 percent) in order to be able to adequately respond to plants unexpectedly going offline. More than three out of four Texans support all three proposals, including four-fifths of Democrats and three-fourths of Republicans. However, fewer than one out of four support allowing companies to charge consumers an additional fee to cover the cost of increasing reserve capacity, such as was recently proposed to the Texas Legislature by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Other proposals enjoy the support of more than three in five Texans. These include requiring the Public Utility Commission to engage in more rigorous oversight of power generation companies (77 percent), increasing the daily utility penalty cap from $25,000 to $100,000 (71 percent), upgrading building codes to make new construction more climate resistant (68 percent), adopting a solar bill of rights (64 percent), and providing state subsidies for the weatherization of low income households (61 percent).
More than two-thirds of Texans believe that due to climate change Texas is today more likely to be adversely affected by severe weather than was the case 30 years ago. With the lurking threat of another harsh winter storm, it is imperative that our elected officials in Austin do everything within their power during the current legislative session to ensure the great state of Texas is not again left freezing in the dark.
Watson is founding dean of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston; Cross is senior director of the Hobby School; and Jones is a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute and a Hobby School senior research associate
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"Opinion" - Google News
March 31, 2021 at 10:35PM
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Opinion: Texans want winterization of utilities, study finds. Elected officials must act to prevent another disaster. - Houston Chronicle
"Opinion" - Google News
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