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How Texans are coping without power

Gabriel C. Pérez / KUT
Icicles hang from a roof in the Travis Heights neighborhood of South Austin on Monday.

It's the third day of power outages across Texas, after a historic winter storm impacted most of the state. 

Just about every power source has been impacted by the weather, from solar panels to wind turbines to nuclear plants.

 

But according to ERCOT, the electric grid provider for over 75% of the state, the main issue continues to be thermal generators -- coal and gas-powered electric plants. Agency officials say they warned operators a week in advance that they should prepare for extreme weather.

 

Those warnings weren’t enough -- on Sunday, demand exceeded supply as multiple generators were knocked offline, and about a quarter of the power production grid is still down as of Tuesday evening.

 

Hear how Texans are coping after days of no power and freezing temperatures.

From KERA in Dallas: 

Many North Texans have spent many hours without power.  KERA's Alejandra Martinez checked in with some of them.

From KUT in Austin:

Thousands of Austinites have been left without power for over two days now as temperatures have plummeted. Many people are being forced to leave their homes, if they can, or get creative to stay alive. KUT’s Ashley Lopez reports on the anger and fear many people are facing as they face the possibility of another night without power.

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From Houston Public Media:

Over a million people in Greater Houston have gone without power since early Monday morning during the coldest temperatures the region’s seen in decades. 

 

Residents have found warmth where they can -- fireplaces, blankets and ski gear. 

 

Houston Public Media's Elizabeth Trovall spoke with some South East Texans coping with the power outage crisis and filed this report. 

 

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