Deadly Texas winter storm power outages were due to freezing or lack of winterizing, report finds

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — More than eight months since the winter freeze that killed hundreds of Texans and left millions in the dark, we’re getting a better look at what led to the deadly disaster.

On Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission met and presented its preliminary findings and recommendations following the freeze from February.

According to the report, the biggest cause of outages was due to freezing or lack of winterizing generators for cold weather conditions. The report found the freezing accounted for 44% of the issues, followed by natural gas fuel shortage issues, which accounted for 31% of the unplanned outages.

The findings show that most natural gas production and processing facilities at Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) “were not identified as critical load or otherwise protected from load shedding” and ultimately led to a decline in natural gas production and supply.

The federal agency offered 28 recommendations, most of which should occur within the next two to three years.

The recommendations include winterizing equipment and conducting annual training on winterization plans. Generator owners who experience outages or failures due to freezing should review what occurred and implement corrective action plans.

For more details on the report’s findings, visit the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s website.