Will Texas Grid Collapse Again? Major Arctic Blast Predicted for Christmas

Reports of frigid weather are enough to freeze even the toughest Texans with fear. The incoming arctic blast predicted to land ahead of Christmas is no exception, leaving some to worry about whether the state's power grid can withstand the extreme cold.

The idea of a white Christmas is sure to warm some hearts, but many Texans still remember when the state's energy grid failed during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

Newsweek reported Friday that Houston may be hit with some of the coldest holiday weather since 1983, with temperatures plummeting to as low as 29 degrees. The biting air is getting blown in from Siberia and expected to hit the Lone Star State around mid-week.

Texans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area should expect to see cold weather that plunges to below freezing, according to David Bonnette, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service (NWS) in Fort Worth.

"It looks like Wednesday night into Thursday is whenever we're going to get our cold temperatures come in," Bonnette told Newsweek on Saturday. "And then they'll stick around for at least a few days...So, a couple days before Christmas Eve, and then we should expect the cooler temperatures to remain through Christmas."

There's also a slight chance that the Dallas-Fort Worth area could see a rain-snow mix on Thursday, Bonnette added. However, most of the winter weather will likely remain to the region's north.

But should Texans fret over another potential grid failure?

"I don't know if I would say 'be worried,'" Bonnette explained. "I would just say know that when temperatures get cold, just to plan for in case the power does go out. That's the biggest piece of advice that we can give."

As far as the south-central Texas area, the end of next week could introduce temperatures at or near freezing, according to Fox Weather on Friday.

Texas' grid was dangerously close to total collapse on February 15, 2021: four minutes and 37 seconds away, to be exact, per local news station KXAN. If that had happened, experts say it would have been months before power could be restored to millions of people.

Hundreds of Texans perished during Winter Storm Uri, with the state's final body count coming in at 246.

Frozen equipment at natural gas facilities and power plants were faulted for the massive blackout, Fox Weather reported. However, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has said it has taken the necessary actions to prepare for future winter storms.

"ERCOT is monitoring the forecast and models closely, and will deploy all available tools to manage the grid reliably," the agency told Fox Weather on Friday. "ERCOT expects sufficient generation to meet forecasted demand at this time."

In September, Texas Governor Greg Abbott expressed confidence in the grid's readiness for the fall. His office has also said that the state took "unprecedented steps" to safeguard the power system since Uri, according to The Texas Tribune.

However, the Austin American-Statesman reported in October that a federal report found the state's grid "remains almost as vulnerable to extreme winter weather as it was" during the "Great Texas Freeze."

Following the storm, Texas' leaders "passed only modest grid reforms," Adrian Shelley, the Texas office director at Public Citizen, wrote to Newsweek Saturday. They could have strengthened transmission lines, invested in energy storage and decreased energy demand via efficiency.

"Instead, they let energy companies off the hook, leaving it mostly up to them to fix the problems they caused," Shelley said. "Texans are worried, as the constant reassurances by the grid managers at ERCOT show. If this year's arctic blast brings another severe winter storm, we'll have Texas leadership to thank for another disaster."