Texas blackouts

Subscribe to NPR's Up First Email

Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Texas' new power grid problem

November 27, 2023 • In 2021, a huge winter storm hit Texas. It caused a days-long blackout that resulted in hundreds of deaths. The Texas grid operator adopted a new policy to guard against another blackout: it would incentivize plants to keep power in reserve. The problem is: that may have caused major price spikes.

Texas' new power grid problem

Listen · 8:46 8:46

Transcript

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197958510/1215478287" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

The Power Is Back On In Texas. Now Comes The Recovery, And It Won't Be Cheap

A worker fixes a water pipe in Galveston, Texas, on Feb. 19. The power is back on in much of the state, but the Lone Star State now faces the hefty cost of emerging from its devastating storms. Thomas Shea/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Thomas Shea/AFP via Getty Images

Energy

The Power Is Back On In Texas. Now Comes The Recovery, And It Won't Be Cheap

February 27, 2021 • From potential long-term rate hikes to repairs of broken pipes, Texans could be paying for years after the state's devastating blackouts.

The Power Is Back On In Texas. Now Comes The Recovery, And It Won't Be Cheap

Listen · 4:17 4:17

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/970877890/971915574" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">