Austin, TX
How will Texas' power grid fare this winter?: FOX 7 Focus
How prepared is the Texas power grid for winter?
Is the Texas power grid prepared for a winter weather event? Austin’s John Krinjak spoke one-on-one with local energy expert Doug Lewin in this FOX 7 Focus.
AUSTIN, Texas – How prepared is the Texas power grid for a winter weather event like the deadly ice storm we saw back in 2021?
Those questions are resurfacing after a prediction from ERCOT’s meteorologist that we could see similar weather conditions this upcoming winter.
FOX 7 Austin’s John Krinjak spoke one-on-one with local energy expert Doug Lewin, author of the Texas Energy and Power newsletter, to get some answers.
JOHN KRINJAK: So we heard from ERCOT’s chief meteorologist this week who kind of warned of weather trends similar to the weather trends we saw back in 2021. Kind of the ingredients that support something like that devastating winter storm. What are your thoughts? What’s your reaction to that prediction?
DOUG LEWIN: Yeah. So obviously, it’s, you know, little, little scary, right? Yeah. Start with the obvious. You know, that that kind of sustained deep freeze obviously wreaks havoc. And as we saw in 2021, I do think that if we had the exact same weather system, we would be better off than we were in 2021. Two main reasons for that is the PUC and ERCOT have been enforcing a winterization standard for power plants. That seems to be working pretty well. We have data on this. Also, we have a whole lot more solar in storage.
JOHN KRINJAK: Where do you think we are still vulnerable? When you look at that big picture of ‘we’re more reliable now than we were, but maybe not all the way there’.
DOUG LEWIN: Yeah. The vulnerabilities are really on the gas supply system. Right. I do think the state has made progress on power plants. But if you can’t get gas to those power plants, they could be winterized to the nines. You know, winterized is as good as anybody’s ever winterized a power plant. It’s only as good as the fuel you can get to it. Right. So the gas and gas is still up for all the wind and solar development we’ve had. For all the talk, nuclear and geothermal and all that. Gas is the dominant source of power on our grid and we rely on it throughout the year and in the wintertime particularly. So having a winterized gas supply system is really important. We don’t have it right now. The other big vulnerability is on demand and energy efficiency. We still would have, you know, two problems during year, not enough supply to much demand. We really have not in the state address energy efficiency. So that excessively high demand we saw during winter storm Uri would would be there again, unfortunately.
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JOHN KRINJAK: So, you know, given the gains that we’ve made and the vulnerabilities that we still have, what do you think the picture looks like if we have something similar to Uri again? Do we see outages? Do we see widespread outages? What what is that? What could that look like?
DOUG LEWIN: Yeah, I think there would be outages. I just don’t think that they would be so so during, you know, winter storm Uri, obviously a defining feature of it was people that were outraged were out for days. Right. So these outages are often described as rolling outages. They weren’t rolling during winter storm Uri. Right. A rolling outage would be you lose power for 15 minutes, 30 minutes maybe on the upper end, 1 or 2 hours, and then the power comes back on. And I think that if we had one again, what we would see is the actual ability to rotate outages again, partially because we have so much solar. So yeah, I don’t think we would see a situation where 10 million Texans are without power for days at a time. It might be a few hundred thousand or a few million Texans and it might be a few hours at a time instead of a few days.
JOHN KRINJAK: What do you think Texans should be thinking about, you know, given this kind of weather scenario, what should people be doing to prepare?
DOUG LEWIN: You know, I would say the main things are just to make sure that you have, you know, the supplies that you need, you know, things like firewood and water and, you know, food that can be prepared without electricity, making sure if you have an elderly neighbor, you know that they have a plan.
JOHN KRINJAK: Doug Lewin, we always appreciate your perspective. Thanks so much for making time for us.
DOUG LEWIN: Hey, thank you, John.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) received a $10,000 donation and 30 pet beds on Thursday.
The donation was from Robert Thiele, an Amazon delivery driver and owner of Clark Courier Services, which was named in honor of his late bulldog, Clark, who passed away this spring after a battle with cancer.
“I named Clark Courier Services after Clark because just like our drivers, he delivered smiles every single day. In a world full of best friends, Clark was the bestest,” said Thiele.
According to Amazon, the donated pet beds were given a second life through Amazon Re:Turn, which repurposes textiles from customer returns that could not be resold or donated.
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Amazon delivers $10,000 donation and pet beds to APA! (KXAN photo/Tim Holcomb)
As a surprise for Thiele, APA! unveiled memorial plaques dedicated to Clark on shelter kennels, which were inscribed with his name and the words “forever delivering.”
“Our Delivery Service Partners are local, small business owners embedded in the communities they serve. Robert’s been delivering in Austin for nearly seven years, and he’s not just moving packages. He’s showing up for the people, the pets, and the neighborhoods around him. That’s what this program is about,” said Emma Crowley, Amazon spokesperson. “Today, we got to give a little back to someone who has and will continue to give so much to others.”
Almost one year ago today, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in the losers’ bracket of their own regional, falling to the No. 3 seed UTSA Roadrunners in the 2025 Austin Regional.
For just a brief moment, it looked as if history was going to repeat itself once again, as the No. 3-seeded Tarleton State Texans got another chance at an upset, beating the Longhorns back in the regular season, 6-1, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
But today, history was not going to repeat itself — the team that the Texans saw in the regular season was a different animal than the iteration in the winners’ bracket. Under another furious day at the plate for Texas, and an outstanding night on the mound for Dylan Volantis, Texas was not going to fall into the losers’ bracket for a second consecutive year.
“Obviously that guy on the mound, he’s one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in college baseball for a reason,” said Tarleton State head coach Fuller Smith about Volantis. “We didn’t do a very good job, and I don’t know if we would beat anybody tonight, to be honest.”
Longhorns Look Unstoppable
If the past two days proved anything, Texas is playing its best baseball at the most crucial time of the season — in all three fronts of the game.
After a poor showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament by the Longhorns’ top three hitters. Aiden Robbins, Carson Tinney, and Anthony Pack Jr. have carried the brunt of the Texas offense in the postseason.
In the second inning alone, the trio rocketed three straight home runs to put the Texans down an early 6-0 hole, a deficit they would not come out of.
“I remember when I stepped on home plate [Anthony] Pack Jr. greeted me at home,” Tinney said. I looked at him, I was like, ‘It’s your turn now.’ And then two pitches later, he sent one out.”
Defensively, the Longhorns’ outfield, which struggled trying to find the right combination, has finally found the right grouping in Robbins, Pack Jr., and Dariyan Pendergrass.
Robbins and Pendergrass both were able to come up with deep fly ball grabs in the past two games. In the infield, missing core member Ethan Mendoza at second base, nonetheless, has yet to skip a beat.
“Pendergrass is a pretty veteran player, he’s been around the block a few times in college baseball,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Aiden has been a great teammate — Pack [Jr.] has improved greatly over the course of time.”
However, the real star of the regional so far has been the dominance on the mound from starters Luke Harrison and Volantis.
In the regional defining game, Volantis had no issue tossing up the Tarleton State order, who found great success against UC-Santa Barbara in the opening game. The sophomore pitcher lasted 6.2 innings, tossing seven strikeouts and allowing just three hits on the night.
With the giant lead by the time Volantis was pulled in the sixth inning, the Longhorns still have not used any of their premier relief arms in this regional.
“Those two innings were definitely helpful [in the SEC Tournament],” Volnatis said. “I definitely could have done the same without those two innings today.”
Texas now awaits a third rematch with Tarleton State or UC Santa Barbara and will not have to face either of their premier arms — notably Guachos pitcher Jackson Flora, a surefire first-round selection in this year’s MLB Draft.
The Longhorns will roll with Ruger Riojas tomorrow night and likely unload its best arms who have not seen action since the final regular season series against Missouri to seal up their first regional victory in three seasons.
“It’s always good to stay in the winner’s bracket and avoid those moments, but we haven’t won anything yet. We won two games,” Schlossnagle said. “I’m certainly excited about how we played to this point and yes, I’m glad we don’t have to play two tomorrow, but the tournament’s not over.”
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AUSTIN, Texas — One person is dead but has not been identified after the Austin Police Department responded to the scene of a deceased person call in South Austin Saturday afternoon.
According to officials, a deceased person was located in a parking lot just at around 12:25 p.m. at the 4400 Block of Pack Saddle Pass after officers responded to a check welfare urgent call.
The victim was pronounced deceased at 12:36 p.m. The incident is being investigated as a suspicious death, it is not being investigated as a homicide.
ALSO: I-35 frontage road at Williams Drive reopens after rollover crash with serious injuries
The identity of the victim is still unknown, and the age and sex of the victim has not been released.
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Anyone with information that could help the investigation is encouraged to call the APD homicide unit at 512-477-3588 or APD Crimestoppers at 512-472-8477.
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