JAKARTA - Texas Governor Greg Abbot said all power plants in the state of the United States have returned to function. However, hundreds of thousands of homes are still without electricity due to cut cables and other obstacles due to extreme snow storms.
The statement was issued by Abbot on Thursday, February 18 afternoon local time. On that occasion, Abbot reminded that the electricity network in the State of Texas is still unstable for the next few days, as well as the extreme weather that must be considered during this weekend.
About 325,000 households are still without electricity, down from 2.7 million on Wednesday, and more than 13 million Texans are experiencing disruption to their water services.
Energy operators and state leaders, including Abbott, have faced harsh criticism for prolonged blackouts due to freezing temperatures that began four days ago.
Abbott said he had asked state legislators to push through a law mandating that all energy plants in Texas 'freeze' their facilities as it does in colder states, in the hope that future chills will not result in failure. electric network.
"What happened this week to fellow Texans is completely unacceptable and can never be replicated," Abbott said at an afternoon press conference.
The governor criticized the Texas Electrical Reliability Board (ERCOT), a cooperative responsible for 90 percent of the state's electricity, which it said had alerted its preparedness to extreme weather.
Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, which includes Houston, said in an afternoon press conference that the number of homes without electricity in her area had fallen to 20,000 from 1.4 million a few nights ago.
"The light may be on, but we are not completely out of the dark yet, we are not completely out of all the challenges," Hidalgo said. We haven't finished this yet.
He warned Houston residents to prepare for the worst.
“The network is still fragile. More cold weather will come tonight. So it will put pressure on the power plant that has just come back to life, "Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo encourages donations to food banks, with some residents struggling to find food and water. He noted reports from senior centers and other vulnerable communities that were short on basic supplies.
The lack of electricity has cut water supplies to millions of people, further straining the ability of hospitals to care for patients amid the pandemic, and isolated vulnerable communities with still impassable frozen roads in parts of the state.
As of Thursday afternoon, 797 public water systems reported disruptions in service, affecting 13.2 million people, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Most of those affected have been told they need to boil water.
So far an estimated 20 people have died from extreme weather and snowstorms in Texas. Officials say they suspect more people have died, but their bodies have not been found.
Previously, US President Joe Biden had declared a state of emergency related to conditions in Texas, which experienced the extreme temperatures for more than 30 years, reaching -18 degrees Celsius last Sunday.
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