DALLAS — ERCOT sought emergency approval from the federal government to bypass emission standards if necessary to keep electricity flowing after state officials’ repeated declarations the the power grid was “ready and reliable” for days of bone-chilling temperatures and dangerous windchills.
Officials sent a letter Friday to the U.S. Department of Energy asking for clearance to sidestep some emissions standards, if needed, to keep the power on. The letter stated the loss of power to homes would be a “far greater risk to public health” than being allowed to exceed certain permit limits.
“ERCOT does not lightly request this authorization,” CEO Pablo Vegas wrote. “It understands the importance of the environmental permit limits that are at issue.”
The federal agency responded by declaring an emergency in Texas and granting ERCOT’s request, should the state’s energy system experience specific conditions.
“While the vast majority of generating units in the ERCOT region continue to operate without any problem, a small number of units have experienced operating difficulties due to cold weather or gas curtailments,” the Energy Department said in its order.
ERCOT officials said the request was a precautionary measure and, as of Saturday afternoon, a tool they haven’t used.
“The request, which was approved yesterday, would allow generators to promptly respond if conditions warranted,” officials wrote in a statement. “ERCOT has sufficient generation to meet demand. Every available on-demand generation resource is contributing electricity to the grid during this extreme cold weather event.”
Temperatures rose above freezing Saturday but were expected to drop again overnight.
In the days leading up to the freezing temperatures, officials repeatedly assured residents this week’s shorter and less extreme forecast meant there wouldn’t be a repeat of the 2021 winter storm that left millions without heat and water for days, ultimately killing more than 240 people.
“We have more power available than ever before, we’ve got more backup fuel and we’ve mapped the critical interactions between the natural gas system and our power generators,” Lake said.
Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott echoed that confidence, tweeting “The Texas power grid continues to operate without issue as temperatures drop across our state,” just before the demand for electricity rose to an all-time winter peak Friday morning, ERCOT said.
The Department of Energy’s order is effective through 10 a.m. on Christmas Day, and grid operators are to provide detailed reporting to the Energy Department and complete a post-incident special environmental analysis, a department spokesperson said in an email.
Warmer days ahead
Dallas woke up Saturday morning to temperatures still below freezing, but relief from the cold is coming.
After another freezing night and a cold morning, Dallas will warm into the high 40s just in time for Christmas Day. For the rest of the week, temperatures will rise, with the forecast calling for a high in the mid-60s by Wednesday.
“We’re going to continue to see temperatures warm the next couple of days,” said Bianca Garcia, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “Each day will gradually warm.”
Thursday could break into the 70s but brings a 20% chance of rain. Friday will be similarly warm, with a bigger potential for rainfall.
“Rain chances will start to increase either late Thursday evening or Friday,” Garcia said.
After nearly 500 people sought refuge from the cold in emergency warming shelters across the city, officials planed to add a new, 1,000-bed shelter at Fair Park to consolidate operations. However, the city said Saturday they no longer anticipated enough need to open the location.
The city’s four shelters — located at the Austin Street Center, Oak Lawn United Methodist Church, Warren United Methodist Church and the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library — will remain open through Monday.
Travel delays
In the meantime, the lingering cold, snow and ice from the United States’ “once in a generation” winter storm wreaked havoc on holiday travel.
About 200 million people — more than 60% of the nation’s population — were under some form of winter weather advisory or warning Friday, according to the National Weather Service, which said the storm “depicts one of the greatest extents of winter weather warnings and advisories ever.”
As a result, more than 7,200 flights nationwide were delayed or canceled by Saturday afternoon, with massive disruptions in Chicago, Denver, New York, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines canceled or delayed more than 1,900 flights by Saturday afternoon, FlightAware reported. Fort Worth-based American Airlines called off or postponed more than 500 of its planned flights. Just under 300 flights into and out of DFW Airport were canceled or delayed, as were about 180 to or from Dallas Love Field.
Those numbers were double or more by the end of the previous day. By Friday evening, nearly 15,000 flights nationwide had been delayed or canceled. Of those, more than 900 were flights into and out of DFW Airport, and about 325 were to or from Dallas Love Field.
Kenneth Tanner, 68, flew into Dallas Sunday evening to spend time with his daughter, who lives in Oak Cliff, with hopes to head back home to Chicago for the holiday weekend Thursday afternoon.
“Looking back, I should have seen this coming, but I tried so hard to time it out so I would get back just before the worst of it,” Tanner said. “I held onto hope as long as I could, but it was delay after delay after delay before finally: canceled.”
Instead of spending Christmas Eve among the crowds at Dallas Love Field with no guaranteed flights in sight, Tanner said he decided to “make the best of a new adventure.”
“Of course I’m sad I can’t be there with my wife and grandchildren, but I also get to spend more time with my daughter, so I’m choosing to be grateful for that,” he said. “Christmas looks different for a lot of people this year, but what’s important is that we’re all safe.”
Tanner said for now, he has plans to explore more of Dallas-Fort Worth with his daughter in the days to come, with a new flight booked for Tuesday night — “fingers crossed.”
“I can actually do that here, go and see the holiday displays and everything, because the weather is warming up — instead of being hunkered down in the house in Illinois while we wait for the ice to melt” Tanner said. “It’s always about the weighing.”
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