BY OLIVIA SIMPSON

Throughout the week of February 14th-20th, parts of Texas were without power during, and following, a historic winter storm. 

The power loss was a result of Texas having its own power grid, a decision made in 1999 to create the nation’s most extensive experiment in electrical design. The grid was made in a cost effective way, but in doing so it allowed for a greater chance of structural problems due to a lack of regulations. So when the entire energy infrastructure was hit by low temperatures, the grid was destined to fail. In the aftermath, 26 million Texians were left without power in the cold.

Democrats and Republicans, alike, are pushing for legislation to prevent this from happening. But many Texians were hurt financially from the experience. Below are links to find ways to help or more information. 

Links: 

• Cost of power outage: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/deep-freeze-subsides-texans-now-face-electricity-bills-10-000-n1258362 
• Who was impacted most: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/A-fight-to-survive-Deep-freeze-imperiled-15966710.php 
• Why it happened: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-deep-freeze-caused-texas-to-lose-power/ 
• How to help: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/how-you-can-help-victims-texas-power-crisis-n1258237  
• Where to donate: https://nymag.com/strategist/article/where-to-donate-to-help-texas-winter-storm-crisis.html 
• History of Texas’s power grid: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/21/us/texas-electricity-ercot-blackouts.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage