Greg Abbott Slammed as Thousands Lose Power in Texas During Bomb Cyclone

Texas Governor Greg Abbott faced backlash Friday after thousands of Texans were left without power due to an arctic blast slamming into the state this week.

The storm brought icy temperatures and strong winds to Texas on Friday, straining the state's power grid and leaving more than 77,000 customers without power. While the storm did not cause widespread blackouts as one did in 2021, some power companies were forced to initiate smaller blackouts to alleviate the power grid's stress after Texas authorities underestimated demand.

The outages added political pressure to Abbott, whose administration has long faced scrutiny over its handling of the power grid. Much of Texas' power grid, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), is independent from that of the rest of the United States.

Heading into the winter storm, critics raised concerns that the state's power grid would be left in a vulnerable state due to the frigid temperatures leading to increased power consumption, adding strain to a grid already seen by many as unreliable.

However, the power grid largely held up, avoiding massive power failures on Friday—though concerns remain that conditions may worsen throughout the holiday weekend. Power outages were caused by other factors including damage caused by high winds or challenges faced by smaller power operators, rather than widespread issues with the power grid.

That did not help Abbott, who faced calls to fix the power grid after the 2021 crisis, avoid scrutiny over the power outages as critics said it would still be less severe with a more reliable power grid.

"Just a reminder that @GregAbbott_TX hasn't done a damn thing all year to strengthen the Texas power grid. As we face down this brutal freeze, thousands have already lost power," tweeted biologist Imogene Cancellare.

Just a reminder that @GregAbbott_TX hasn't done a damn thing all year to strengthen the Texas power grid. As we face down this brutal freeze, thousands have already lost power. — Imogene Cancellare, PhD (@biologistimo) December 23, 2022

In a follow-up tweet, Cancellare elaborated that the power grid made it more challenging.

"Texas can't handle the simultaneous return to power in these low temps and are forced to tackle outages in batches so as not to overload the already inadequate system," she added.

Comedian Sean Kent tweeted: "I live in Texas and lost power last night when it was below freezing. I also didn't vote for Greg Abbott. I feel like someone who did vote for him should come over and apologize to me."

I live in Texas and lost power last night when it was below freezing. I also didn’t vote for Greg Abbott. I feel like someone who did vote for him should come over and apologize to me. — Sean Kent (@seankent) December 23, 2022

Others also criticized Abbott after power costs in Texas spiked amid the storm. According to Bloomberg, prices Friday in some areas topped $500 per megawatt-hour, more than five times the price on Thursday.

Former Democratic Senate candidate Sema Hernandez tweeted: "Texas Power Prices Spike More Than 400% in One Day Amid Bomb Cyclone Thanks for the price gouging, ⁦@GregAbbott_TX⁩!"

Texas Power Prices Spike More Than 400% in One Day Amid Bomb Cyclone

Thanks for the price gouging, ⁦@GregAbbott_TX⁩! https://t.co/N741aDOMd8 — Sema (@_SemaHernandez_) December 24, 2022

In a statement to Newsweek Saturday afternoon, Renae Eze, Abbott's communications director, said no Texans lost power due to the power grid, also highlighting that the governor signed 14 bills into law to "weatherize the Texas power grid and ensure its stability and resiliency."

"While other power grids across the country have experienced emergency conditions during this nationwide cold weather event, the Texas power grid has continued to operate reliably. ERCOT provided more power these last two winter nights than any winter ever," Eze wrote.

Abbott also defended the power grid on Twitter.

"The ERCOT grid performed well again today. Yesterday, Texas had the highest power demand in any winter. Today was the 2nd highest demand day for winter power. During 2 extremely cold nights, the power grid has not failed. No Texan has lost any power because of the ERCOT grid," the governor tweeted.

The ERCOT grid performed well again today.

Yesterday, Texas had the highest power demand in any winter. Today was the 2nd highest demand day for winter power.

During 2 extremely cold nights, the power grid has not failed.

No Texan has lost any power because of the ERCOT grid. pic.twitter.com/hxLSRPaMMl — Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 24, 2022

Still, facing the potential for outages, ERCOT successfully requested the Department of Energy to bypass some emission standards, intended to help protect the environment, to improve the electric grid's reliability, according to KHOU, a Houston-based television news station.

Katie Mehnert, the CEO of ALLY Energy, responded to Abbot's tweet, writing: "Yeah. It performed 'well' after getting @ENERGY/feds to bypass emission standards. Do better."

Yeah. It performed ‘well’ after getting @ENERGY / feds to bypass emission standards. Do better. https://t.co/DCx8e1kHmi — Katie Mehnert (@katiemehnert) December 24, 2022

Update 12/24/2022 5:20 p.m. ET: This story was updated with a statement from Abbott's office.