Most of Texas saw the restoration of power on Thursday, but the crisis of drinkable water soon surged through the state. Millions of people across the state remain in need of safe drinking water following cracked pipes and frozen wells amid a raging winter storm.
“What happened this week to our fellow Texans is absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again,” stated Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (Ercot), an energy cooperative responsible for 90 percent of the state’s electricity, failed to restore power till Wednesday morning.
According to weather experts, the cold temperature is not expected to decrease until the weekend. Due to severe cold, the COVID-19 inoculation drive has also been halted as centers are closed and vaccine supplies hindered.
The storm has knocked about a third of the state’s generating capacity offline. More than four million people were without power as of late Tuesday, including 1.4 million people in the Houston metropolitan area.
Harris County’s top elected official, Judge Lina Hidalgo said, ““The lights may be on, but we’re not quite yet out of the dark, we’re not quite yet out of all the challenges.”
“The grid is still fragile. There is more cold weather coming tonight. So that’s going to put pressure on these power plants that have just come back on,” she added.
