Texas's power disaster is a warning sign for the US

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America's power grid is not ready.
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In February, extreme cold and an unusual winter storm left millions of Texans in the dark. Many went without power or water, in subzero temperatures, for nearly five days. It was a disaster; dozens died. But even though that storm hit much of the country, the power outages were mostly limited to Texas. That’s because Texas is on its own electrical grid, separate from the rest of the country, which means it can’t easily get power from other states in an emergency.
But Texas's grid itself is not what failed. Power went out across Texas in the first place because energy sources across the state were unprepared for severe weather. And that didn’t have to happen; Texas had been warned about this exact scenario, and had actually experienced versions of it twice in the last 30 years. But they didn’t prepare.
Now the rest of the US faces the same issue. Climate change is making severe weather disasters more and more frequent. And the American energy system is not ready for it.
Read more about what happened in Texas and about the US electrical grid: www.vox.com/22289517/texas-storm-uri-weather-power-outage-snow
And check out more coverage of the Texas power crisis from the Texas Tribune: www.texastribune.org/2021/02/22/texas-power-grid-extreme-weather/
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
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Komentarjev

Vox
Pred mesecem
One proposal for fixing the US grid: weave the divided power systems into a single national power grid. One study suggests it could save consumers as much as $47.2 billion a year through increased efficiency and cheaper renewable energy. Read more on Vox: bit.ly/30duu7d
R Flo
Pred 4 dnevi
Yeah and in California they shut off your power in the summer on purpose.
RockDinosaur
Pred 17 dnevi
@Soaring Wings Second Stage The storm and failures to plan were an attempt to prevent an illegal and traitorous secession effort? Sure, makes sense - Texas is great.
Sam Dittfach
Pred 17 dnevi
I live 2 miles from a nuclear power plant south of Fort Worth so I had power
tixximmi1
Pred 23 dnevi
This wouldn't work. Need to de-centralize. 100 grids would be better. Solar and wind failed.
Spade
Pred 26 dnevi
Good plan but we should note that a good load of politicians focus on their allies needs, so it’s extremely unlikely this’ll occur unfortunatly
Lightning Razz Gaming
Pred 10 urami
I am watching this video with my tablet right now and I charged my tablet yesterday.
LETICIA BRISENO
Pred 2 dnevi
I life in Texas
BINARYGOD
Pred 2 dnevi
Send this to every right and centrist person who thinks Bidens infrastructure bill is too much or just right - it isn't even close to being enough.
WolfMaster 1
Pred 3 dnevi
I was in Texas during the winter storm I nearly lost power for 5 days it was like bad so I went to my aunt home because she had power so yea it was bad for me winter storm
Spectacular Spaghetti
Pred 3 dnevi
As a Scandinavian, it blows my mind how a state in the US cant handle cold weathers, as this country is so powerful and stuff. Even the best can make big mistakes.
Darryl Davis
Pred 4 dnevi
If Donald Trump was president the Power wouldn't have been limited by the green deal.
Darryl Davis
Pred 4 dnevi
the government commission shut it down due to the new green deal that biden signed as an executive order his first day. Texas can produce enough energy for the Entire World easily but the government shut it down.
Darryl Davis
Pred 3 dnevi
@pierocks45 you're probably a devil worshiper
Darryl Davis
Pred 3 dnevi
@pierocks45 Yes, Do you have a brain? You're the government, How do you fix it so that there will never be a power outage again? go. You won't answer cause you know that it's political and all the grids are under Federal Regulation.
pierocks45
Pred 3 dnevi
do you have a brain?
pomelofromchina
Pred 6 dnevi
Schlüsselindustrien enteignen!
aiden caldwell
Pred 6 dnevi
Good thing we had the better idea because we had food and water
Coldfusionstorm Gaming
Pred 6 dnevi
Texans was killed by Texans because they wanted to save money for their power grid and enrich the already rich. Don't whitewash it. You had 50 years of warnings. again and again now people died. if you're reading this congratulations you were either lucky or rich enough to avoid dying.
john piers
Pred 6 dnevi
But when you think about it Texas maybe the safest state in terms of energy. It may suffer occasionally like this but if something was to hit those huge power grids in the east and west, it possible all major cities would be affected except in Texas.
Nick L
Pred 7 dnevi
Business needs to stop putting profit over life. Never forget how valuable YOU are. If you do something right from the start there wouldn’t be problems.
Pyro
Pred 7 dnevi
In the map they show in the beginning, New York and New Jersey are merged
Adam Place
Pred 8 dnevi
The experiment in privatization has failed.
Pebbs800
Pred 9 dnevi
interesting how vox decided to not include that texas submitted a request to the EPA to increase power output for this storm before the fact but it was denied by the federal government
koen Armstrong
Pred 10 dnevi
Wow it looks like the climate is changing🧐 It’s not gonna matter when half the world is under water and everybody has to find a new place to live or worse. Hopefully not
Hab N
Pred 10 dnevi
there has been a literal power outage in California and I am scared.
DarkChocolate33
Pred 11 dnevi
Am I the only one that noticed that Vox spelled the video wrong? Feel like it should be Texas' instead of Texas's.
Jeremiah Muñoz
Pred 11 dnevi
Texas: *Im so not used to this i think i need more Help, we arent used to Winter* Russia, Canada, and Nordic countries: *AMATUERS*
Nick L
Pred 11 dnevi
The evil people left there most helpful state astray. They do not gaf about us.
Devilsfoolsgoingbbq
Pred 12 dnevi
i feel like the planned parenthood building is atracting catastrophes upon texas, dont see a bright future to the land.
Its Legit Ryan
Pred 12 dnevi
And yall want electric cars💀
Crystal Glaza
Pred 12 dnevi
Let's start our own country and have no problems at all 🙂
G L
Pred 12 dnevi
But how are we going to pay for it if we need the money to bomb Syria.
legenden kjær YT
Pred 12 dnevi
Texas: makes it impossible for the federal government to help Them Also Texas when the federal government doesnt help Them: suprised Pikachu face
DCBJ2011
Pred 13 dnevi
I’m from Dallas and this winter storm was 100x worse than covid ever was here
Eko Hermiyanto
Pred 13 dnevi
The Mighty Morphin Texas Ranger should do something about it
Glendon Caballero
Pred 13 dnevi
As someone who lives in the Caribbean, it's so interesting that you guys called 5 C warm 😂
Jan Six
Pred 13 dnevi
Preparing for unpredictable and infrequent events? What do you wanna be Germans now!
A_
Pred 14 dnevi
The U.S Government is not obligated to save you. Become a Prepper Today!
Mix Crowd TV
Pred 14 dnevi
can you make a documentary about whats being done to fix this or is nothing being done?
The Dwight Mamba
Pred 14 dnevi
The rest of the United States maintained our grids, updating them as needed. They say not to mess with Texas. Turns out it's because they are about as tough as tissue paper down there.
Mark Alcarez
Pred 11 dnevi
😂
traingp7
Pred 14 dnevi
A once in a 30 year event happens and you blame the power grid for something that doesn't happen almost ever. The grid is built for peak summer time output not winter time and it 's not supposed to be winterized.
Alex Martinez
Pred 14 dnevi
This was very interesting. The winter storm that affected Texas has affected the automotive industry as well. Since the factories can't run as normal, parts necessary to assemble vehicles can't be delivered. As a result the other companies have to reduce their production &/or workforce. It is basically a ripple effect.
Mr Moss
Pred 14 dnevi
The damaged deodorant laparoscopically bounce because melody biophysically muddle astride a unique fedelini. troubled, thoughtless servant
nathan baines
Pred 15 dnevi
O
Alia Schnarr
Pred 15 dnevi
The glossy married morphologically educate because octave wessely describe aboard a overrated jeff. rich, flaky ant
A B
Pred 15 dnevi
The lone wolf dies and only the pack survives.
Pacific Blue
Pred 15 dnevi
So where the government is going to get this money to rebuild our power grid and infrastructure? Our debt now exceeds GDP. This shows how inept the government is in meeting the needs of the people. When the grid is eventually rebuilt, expect a lot of excess, inefficiencies, politicing, and corruption.
Donnie Baker
Pred 15 dnevi
The light swordfish seemingly post because belgian generically owe qua a historical expansion. angry, hilarious gym
Master King Lee
Pred 15 dnevi
When you wanna be in your own world, and suddenly your world is hit with a disaster - it’s your own problem son!
Cant think Of anything
Pred 12 dnevi
so why do we accept refugees? its not our problem like how you said. California tried to secede but they have tons of wildfires monthly. According to you its not our problem.
MuffinTessee
Pred 16 dnevi
Republicans: dur dur dur it really cold for 7 days in texas so climate change a hoax, also it wind mill fault cause mill blow up when get cold
AntiSocial
Pred 16 dnevi
They are not used to the cold
eioshen boboi
Pred 16 dnevi
The managers of the electric companies have all kinds of emergency equipment installed with their huge salaries. For them.. Not for you, suckers..
eioshen boboi
Pred 16 dnevi
As a Canadian, when I first saw Texas I was like "Oh! How pretty!"
Kermit The Frog
Pred 17 dnevi
based
White Elephant Productions
Pred 17 dnevi
I didn't have power for three days, it was so shocking (but not surprising) to learn how much of Texas is behind just to make money for already wealthy people. I lost all my plants, my beloved dog... It was so depressing. I'm from a place where summers hit triple digits normally, I know
Ace Faletti
Pred 17 dnevi
The vigorous active accordingly scribble because israel intermittently grate with a statuesque knowledge. adorable, puzzled wallet
lenny koss
Pred 17 dnevi
❤❤
Joel Arriaga
Pred 17 dnevi
Texas should just be it’s own country at this point 😒
Razian Amira
Pred 17 dnevi
_“Corona doesn't break the system; Corona exposed a broken system.”_ likewise... _“The snowstorm doesn't break the system; the snowstorm exposed a broken system.”_
Orange Boi
Pred 9 dnevi
What does likewise mean? I know i can ask google but her answers are different
Miller Riddell
Pred 17 dnevi
Every time Biden picks up a pen he destroys more of the U.S haha. You get what you vote for
Andrew Kriz
Pred 17 dnevi
I lost power because I am in Texas
Tyler Peters
Pred 17 dnevi
Ha we Canadians run better in the cold
Jason Victoriano
Pred 17 dnevi
To tell me why I don’t live in Texas but still lost power
Daquan McDonald
Pred 18 dnevi
If the us was smart they would start finding ways to keep up after this big lose
Steven Klinkhamer
Pred 18 dnevi
Excellent. But is anybody listening?
Victor Bui
Pred 18 dnevi
PRO TIP for future blizzards and freezes: Before the cold hits, shut off your home's water system. Map out your house's water pipelines and make sure you leave at least one or two water faucets trickling. When the freeze rolls over, slowly open your water main and pay attention to your walls and ceilings where the water pipes run. If you notice any leaks or dark spots appearing on your walls, shot off your water and fix it.
David Stearns
Pred 9 dnevi
Good tips and always prudent steps but folks seem to be waiting for someone else to take those precautions.
urgdaddy
Pred 18 dnevi
God Bless Generac, Largest distributor is in Houston.
Relias Brothers
Pred 18 dnevi
Texas well most of Texas is pretty dum no cap no cap
Happycrusher
Pred 18 dnevi
Even the electrical supply in the US is Just old and a Joke. In Germany a normal Winter night is - 10 °c ( dont know what that in Fahrenheit is, noone uses that exept the US ) and Not one country in Europe has These Problems. The US hat enough time to prepare . But they need to Pay there Money for some new Fighter plane
speedyfireball
Pred 18 dnevi
As a Canadian, when I first saw Texas I was like "Oh! How pretty!"
Alexander Williams
Pred 18 dnevi
i wanna go hoooooooooome i wanna go hoome! -sandy cheeks
fox gamming
Pred 18 dnevi
i live in texas and i lost power for a day! and i wont lie it was not fun at all, as soon as the heater in my house had stopped working it got cold with in a few hours it was way below freezing in my town!, my grandmothers pipes busted thankfully it wasn't bad me and my dad got it repaired fast, after that power had come back on and would go out again, and it would do that for 2 days before we deemed it safe to restore our computers!. I will say that it can get cold out here in texas at the normal for my area, it can get down to 32f!, and in the past its got down to 20f before and our grid stayed online, but this last freeze we had was different it hit so fast and hard the grid just couldn't take it!, sorry for the long comment i wanted to share my story of the lone star black out!
Blake the Tank
Pred 18 dnevi
Shoutout to Nissan of McKinney lol
Mia Khalifa
Pred 18 dnevi
The disgusted politician mathematically curl because city impressively irritate off a drunk elbow. icy, blue sprout
archtroll
Pred 18 dnevi
texas.. home of Enron and the great 2021 power failure. The energy state!
YinzerJr79
Pred 18 dnevi
Vox, is that graph at 5:30 taking inflation into account? Like is that all in current USD?
Bence H
Pred 18 dnevi
In America, as long as something isn't worth it for large companies, it won't happen.
ANIMATION WEB 3
Pred 18 dnevi
Shouldn't have voted for Conservatives 😂 Bonk!
MsMeditatingPanda
Pred 18 dnevi
I'm a Texan. Was here in 1989 don't remember anyone we knew losing power like this. After surviving this I just want to know what's going to be done about it. Some died, some barely made it. Some are elderly or sick. Some of us can't afford another storm like this. They want to raise the electricity bills on people already stretched. Some of these people can't afford a decent generator. By the grace of God did my family only lose electricity. If we had lost water or had a pipe burst ....I don't even want to know. If you made it without both much love and respect to you. I pray I never forget this but I want to do something about it.
Darryl Davis
Pred 4 dnevi
the government shut it down due to the new green deal that biden signed as an executive order his first day. Texas can produce enough energy for the Entire World easily but the government shut it down. If Trump was President that volatile weather wouldn't have happened first of all but if it had, the power wouldn't have shut off.
Vladimir Putin
Pred 19 dnevi
I live in Texas and why electricity went out 3:21 am Me watching this me ohhhhh
PriusRaj
Pred 19 dnevi
Lost power during that. Worst winter of my life, and I grew up in Iowa.
wig smey
Pred 19 dnevi
So we work together, whether we like it or not 😂
Alex Tsahalis
Pred 19 dnevi
Way to go, Texas!! Yeehaw!!
J G
Pred 19 dnevi
Now, why did they go it alone? Greed.
J G
Pred 19 dnevi
Still not too late to make it “last months”!
KendrixTermina
Pred 19 dnevi
regulation is good actually
EdricLysharae
Pred 19 dnevi
Sure you want to stand alone, Lone Star State?
王思聪是我哥
Pred 19 dnevi
One of my friend died because of this
alenworkar345 misse456
Pred 19 dnevi
The synonymous valley architecturally owe because raincoat concretely surround anenst a assorted yak. shrill, belligerent drink
Akshay S. Kumar
Pred 20 dnevi
Texas is God’s own country
Akshay S. Kumar
Pred 19 dnevi
@s H nah Israel is Jews country
s H
Pred 19 dnevi
Interresting. I thought its Israel
Tardar Sauce
Pred 20 dnevi
Federal regulations are just part of Big Gov's plan to take away our freedom and money, amirite?? Surely it has nothing to do with common sense and basic logic, right???
s H
Pred 19 dnevi
Well the states with regulations, didnt had any problems
Pawit Ninnabodee
Pred 20 dnevi
The faded february summarily open because walrus astonishingly paint down a innate work. smoggy, steep great-grandmother
Agustina Chappell
Pred 20 dnevi
Anything goes now a days.
Captain CJ 97
Pred 20 dnevi
This country really needs a revamp on a whole lot of things. Also and somehow they want us to go full electric I don't get it
Zombie King
Pred 17 dnevi
Solar Panels and giant battery’s. Tesla already has them.
bocoy noiu
Pred 20 dnevi
FYI usually between January and February it's always the coldest months of the year....
bocoy noiu
Pred 20 dnevi
she will bake and freeze vast majoirity of both human and animal populations into extinction until a new balance is formed. I see a new ice age coming and mass famine. We
MrHardkohr
Pred 20 dnevi
Stop spending on the military and use that money on our infrastructure
allen liu
Pred 20 dnevi
this is a texas issue
tim kahn
Pred 21 dnevom
yeah warning folks not to vote g o p .
Jacob Dennis
Pred 21 dnevom
Spongebob was right.
jim carson
Pred 21 dnevom
Ca. last August was also moments away from an area-by-area brown-out, they had to buy electricity from Az to keep from browning out, so much for water for the raging wildfires. Ca. is removing power plants every year, not just shutting them off but removing them.
Patricia Patricia
Pred 21 dnevom
The smooth expert biochemically race because purchase geographically copy apud a best decision. longing, resolute pint
The Writer Alex
Pred 21 dnevom
They say Texas decided to stay independent and free from regulations as if it’s a bad thing.
The Writer Alex
Pred 21 dnevom
“Just join the national power grid! You’re not allowed to be sovereign in any way! This way China can cut the ENTIRE countries power!”
Dylan Thompson
Pred 21 dnevom
At least it's not as bad as California.
dcoog anml
Pred 21 dnevom
5:00 Uh oh Texas, looks like the GOVERMENT gonna need do some ENFORCEMENT.
Mitha Parhi
Pred 21 dnevom
They have no electricity😯😯
Gábor Ócsai
Pred 21 dnevom
So even where the more regulated regions regulation do not achieve its goals we say need more regulations.... Why no companies develops their system? Are their leaders evil, or maybe just not worth spend much of money to an installation which could be shut down by any populist politican? Or if you cant put on the price of your customers? Yes, Texas show the vulnaribilty of the system: you need as big grid as you can, and yes, companies dont do developments if they feel theirselves too secure (they are the only providers) or they are too unsecure (regulators can anytime shut down) or just the regulators “forget” to pay the cost of their regulations.
dcoog anml
Pred 21 dnevom
our power grid is going to fail in the next 20 years... it’s arguably a bigger and more immediate threat to our country’s survival than climate change is right now
Birdie G
Pred 22 dnevi
There have been so many advertising for Texas the past couple years. Now, here are some facts and reality.
CatiaProjects TV
Pred 22 dnevi
this is why tesla thinks about energy storage and local grid