In late February of 2021, Winter Storm Uri caused record-breaking low temperatures throughout the state of Texas. The resulted in an overwhelming demand on the electrical grid that lead to failures and outages at power generation facilities. Over 2.7 million Texas households were left without power, people died, and 254 counties experienced property damage as an unprecedented winter storm caused rolling blackouts across much of the state. State leaders were divided on placing blame for the outages, with some immediately naming wind and solar energy as the culprits and others putting the blame on the state’s electricity grid not being built to withstand the physical and demand-based pressure that occurs during severe winter storms. The deregulated, independent electricity grid in Texas has also come under scrutiny for being unable to receive power from the country’s two connected electric grids – the Eastern and Western Interconnections. As temperatures plummeted to record lows, key machinery at many of the state’s major coal plants, nuclear power plants, and natural gas plants froze over as demand for power surged to keep consumers warm. In a state that has an electric grid designed for extreme summer temperatures, many consumers, property owners, and businesses are looking for someone to blame for the Texas power grid failure during Winter Storm Uri. Lawsuits are being filed across the state for property damage, personal injury, wrongful death, business interruption, and more due to the severe winter storm.
