Texas grid operator to end emergency conditions, millions still under boil-water notice

Texas grid operator to end emergency conditions, millions still under boil-water notice

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which is known as ERCOT and controls the majority of the state's power, said it plans to come out of emergency conditions on Friday as power has been returned to millions of customers who were left in the dark.

However, the impacts from the deadly storm are still being felt across Texas.

ERCOT said conservation of power is "still critical." Nearly 200,000 customers in the state still do not have power, according to the latest data from PowerOutage.us. Utility officials say that limited rolling blackouts are still possible if electricity demand rises.

At one point on Tuesday, more than four million customers were without power.

While the heat might be coming back, parts of the state's water supply might now be at risk after water pressure dropped, leading to potential contamination.

Alison Silverstein, an independent energy consultant and former strategic advisor for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said that 20 million or more Texans could be forced to boil water.

ERCOT officials said Thursday during a virtual news conference that the grid was "seconds and minutes" away from a far worse disaster, given the rate at which generation was going off the system. KXAN in Austin first reported the comments.