By Bill Oakey – July 18, 2024

With another summer heatwave gripping the state, Texas faces a potential major disaster. If our power grid were to fail, or if cities were thrown into blackouts to protect the grid, how well are public officials prepared? That is the immediate concern here in Austin.  An equally ominous worry is whether the Texas grid will hold up going forward, beyond the current heatwave. These two fundamental questions haunt many parts of the country, as record triple digit temperatures scorch several states.

For us locally, I recommend a bipartisan, coordinated initiative among the City of Austin, Travis County and State officials. From there, an effort to seek Federal assistance could also be considered. We should be prepared for a possible worse-case scenario, that could come at any time. And, unless the correct sequence of actions are taken to shore up the grid, we face a potential disaster each year going forward.

We Need a Working Group of Public Officials to Tackle Disaster Preparedness and Grid Stability

My research indicates that both of these challenges have reached a critical inflection point this summer. Below, I will lay out the case for why a coordinated effort from a Working Group is needed.

Disaster Preparedness

1. Air conditioning is essential for protecting people during heatwaves. In the event of a grid failure or prolonged blackout, the City needs a good plan and sufficient resources to implement it. Here are some recent news articles that highlight the problem:

a. Heat waves are getting longer and more brutal. Here’s why your AC can’t save you anymore. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/04/climate/heat-waves-air-conditioning-climate/index.html

b. A Call For Immediate Public Health And Emergency Response Planning For Widespread Grid Failure Under Extreme Heat. https://fas.org/publication/grid-failure-extreme-heat/

c. Many people can’t physically flee disasters. Too often, we fail to help them. https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/07/opinions/disabilities-disasters-challenges-failing-taylor/index.html

City of Austin Preparedness Resources

1. Webpage dedicated to power outage procedures:

https://austinenergy.com/outages/plan-ahead/how-we-prepare-for-outages

2. Emergency Operations Plan, which covers all disasters:

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/HSEM/Signed_Basic_Plan_06-23-2023.pdf

3. Austin Energy has a Medically Vulnerable Registry, for customers with critical medical conditions requiring electricity. Here are two links that describe this program:

a. Customer enrollment information: https://coautilities.com/wps/wcm/connect/occ/coa/util/support/customer-assistance/services-medically-vulnerable

b. Current parameters and future improvements: https://services.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=426910

Questions On Preparedness That the Working Group Should Address

1. Are there specific plans actually in place right now to move large numbers of elderly and disabled people to a cool location? The stakes are high. We should proactively prepare for temperatures at or above 105 degrees. A severe heatwave blackout could be a deadly disaster on the scale of Hurricane Katrina.

2. Will cool locations be made available during nighttime hours, when it is above 90 degrees long after dark? Will food and water be available?

3. Does the City have a complete list, with the addresses and contact info of facilities and organizations for both elderly and disabled citizens? 

 4. Does the City have a plan to help elderly and disabled citizens living in their homes, who are not eligible for the Medically Vulnerable Registry? A major power grid failure during an extreme heatwave could impact these people within a matter of hours.

5. Has the City worked with elder care facilities to advise them or assist them with financing to install generators?

Ensuring the Future Stability of the Grid

The Working Group should meet regularly to monitor progress and make recommendations to prevent a breakdown of the grid. Here are some recent news articles on the current status and major challenges:

1.Texas Electricity Demand Could Nearly Double In Six Years.

https://www.texastribune.org/2024/06/20/texas-electricity-demand-forecast-ercot/

2. As Summer Heat Hits, How Is the Texas Grid Faring?

https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-grid-heat-summer-doug-lewin/

3. Artificial intelligence needs so much power it’s overwhelming the electrical grid.

https://studyfinds.org/artificial-intelligence-needs-so-much-power-its-destroying-the-electrical-grid/

4. Amid Explosive Demand, America Is Running Out of Power.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/03/07/ai-data-centers-power/

5. Doug Lewin’s Texas Energy and Power Newsletter. Doug is a prominent energy consultant. You can read his bio here. Check out his newsletter that covers the Texas grid below:

https://www.douglewin.com/

Conclusions

1. The City of Austin should form a bipartisan Working Group with Travis County and State officials, to ensure that they are prepared to protect citizens to the greatest extent possible during a Texas power grid failure.

2. The State should consider releasing Rainy Day Funds and allocating them to this effort, for Cities and communities across Texas.

3. The City should use every bit of influence they can muster to encourage the State to shore up the power grid. This includes funding and incentives for new power generation, more transmission lines and new energy storage and conservation technologies.

4. The Working Group should meet regularly and utilize a strong, proactive approach. There needs to be a timeline, with milestones, clear objectives and followup to ensure positive results. This would require outreach to industries and businesses involved in shoring up the grid.

5. Along the way, the Working Group should constantly seek out and review the initiatives and the progress being made by other cities and states around the country.

6. This coordinated effort could lead to saving numerous lives, and substantially reduce the costs associated with delays or inaction in protecting the Texas power grid.