A resident of Waco, Texas, clears snow from his driveway alongside his dog as severe winter weather conditions over the last few days have forced road closures and power outages across the state.—AFP
A resident of Waco, Texas, clears snow from his driveway alongside his dog as severe winter weather conditions over the last few days have forced road closures and power outages across the state.—AFP

LUBBOCK: Hundreds of thousands of homes in Texas faced a fourth day without heat on Thursday after utilities made some progress restoring power and the winter storm that crippled the electrical grid moved out of the state.

The crisis that has gripped the country’s second-largest state by area was set to continue, however, with millions of people still without access to water, many struggling to find food, and freezing temperatures expected through the weekend.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), a cooperative responsible for 90 per cent of the state’s electricity, said in a statement that it had made “significant progress” in restoring electricity to homes. It did not provide figures.

At present some 504,000 Texas households were without power, down from around 2.7 million on Wednesday, according to poweroutage.us, a website that tracks outages.

Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top elected official in Harris County, which encompasses Houston, said that the number of homes without power in her county had fallen to 46,000 from nearly a million the previous night. She warned of challenges ahead.

“The water and food impacts of the winter weather continue, and there will be a hard freeze tonight, which could cause additional impacts to infrastructure,” Hidalgo wrote on Twitter.

Published in Dawn, February 19th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

Counterterrorism plan
Updated 23 Nov, 2024

Counterterrorism plan

Lacunae in our counterterrorism efforts need to be plugged quickly.
Bullish stock market
23 Nov, 2024

Bullish stock market

NORMALLY, stock markets rise gradually. In recent months, however, Pakistan’s stock market has soared to one ...
Political misstep
23 Nov, 2024

Political misstep

FORMER first lady Bushra Bibi’s video address to PTI followers has triggered a firestorm. Her assertion implying...
Kurram atrocity
Updated 22 Nov, 2024

Kurram atrocity

It would be a monumental mistake for the state to continue ignoring the violence in Kurram.
Persistent grip
22 Nov, 2024

Persistent grip

An audit of polio funds at federal and provincial levels is sorely needed, with obstacles hindering eradication efforts targeted.
Green transport
22 Nov, 2024

Green transport

THE government has taken a commendable step by announcing a New Energy Vehicle policy aiming to ensure that by 2030,...