Power Failure

For most people, power outages are an inconvenience. For those who count on electricity for home medical equipment, they can be a crisis. Here's how to plan ahead for health care needs in a blackout.

Highs on Friday in San Antonio were expected to inch just above freezing before plunging again after dark.

In this episode of The Disconnect, we visit a Texas gas power plant that is preparing for winter, talk about the drama in Austin as lawmakers and oil and gas regulators square off over policy, and ask the question: Is Texas ready for another big freeze?

The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February.

The Texas House and Senate both approved negotiated versions of Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 3, the two sweeping bills to change the state’s power grid and the people who oversee it.

Provisions within Senate Bill 3 touch on everything from regulating some retail electricity plans to establishing an energy emergency alert system. But the most contentious proposals deal with which parts of the state’s power infrastructure will need to “winterize.”