70,000 electric customers in Texas are without power once again after a winter storm hit the Lone Star state, despite Republican Governor Greg Abbott‘s promise after last year’s massive outage that reportedly killed about 700 people, that the lights would stay on this winter.
Certified Broadcast Meteorologist for Fox San Antonio and NBC San Antonio, Brad Sowder posted a photo of some of the damage from the storm:
Ice storm in San Antonio is pulling down fences at Top Golf. More than 70,000 customers without power in Texas most in Sa.pic.twitter.com/6fzwxNSdUj— Brad Sowder (@Brad Sowder) 1643899083
Austin, Texas NPR affiliate KUT on Tuesday reported how Abbott was preemptively breaking his promise: “Gov. Abbott promised last fall that ‘the lights will stay on.’ Now he says there’s no guarantee.”
“I can guarantee the lights will stay on,” he said in an interview with Fox 7’s Rudy Koski in November.
Apparently not, Texans are learning today.
“It’s a little traumatic. It’s like last year. Déjà vu all over again,” Angelica Carlin told the Corpus Christi Caller-Times as she “stood in line at an Austin H-E-B on Wednesday night with bags of dog food and water bottles in her cart.”
Carlin lost power for three days during last year’s massive power outage. “She remembers lying in bed crying and seeing steam from her breath — inside her home.”
Many Texans believe state lawmakers did not require all the necessary infrastructure improvements to guard against a repeat of the widespread blackouts, when millions went without power and at least 246 people died.
Also on Tuesday, Abbott was bragging that “Energy is the centerpiece of the Texas economy.”
Energy is the centerpiece of the Texas economy.\n\u00a0\nWhether it\u2019s oil, natural gas, chemical products, or the pipelines that carry them, Texas is THE energy state.\n\u00a0\nI'm proud to have the support of energy groups from across the state.\n\nThank you for joining me today in Midland.pic.twitter.com/sFMI3v419u— Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott) 1643769000
This was Abbott on Wednesday:
Elon Musk may not have been invited to the White House, but he has been in the Governor\u2019s Office at the Texas Capitol.\n\nAnd now, Tesla\u2019s headquarters are in Texas too.pic.twitter.com/w8EhO4RJPw— Greg Abbott (@Greg Abbott) 1643864481
The Dallas Morning News reports “All indications are that the Texas power grid is meeting demand so far as Gov. Greg Abbott and state officials managing Texas’s emergency response to the winter storm are updating residents on the impact from the ongoing winter storm Thursday.”
There is “plenty of power available,” Abbott said in a briefing.
This was the response from one Texan:
Nothing snarkey to say here. But because our Gov. cares more about Tesla than Texans freezing, here is a list of warming stations per county. This has been continuously update by a Texan fighting for Texanshttps://twitter.com/BetoORourke/status/1489263116009422859\u00a0\u2026— Phil in Austin (@Phil in Austin) 1643906548
IN OTHER NEWS: Pence aides won't discuss direct conversations with Trump with Jan. 6 committee: CNN
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