January/February 2022 | COVER STORY

Texas is no stranger to extreme weather, including intense heat and record-breaking hurricanes. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), electricity generation usually peaks in Texas during the summer. The annual spike is triggered by residents firing up air conditioners in search of some respite from rising heat—in some areas of Texas, temperatures reached 116 degrees Fahrenheit in 2020.

But in February 2021, a seemingly singular strain on Texas’s power grid occurred. With a polar jet stream and polar vortex generating winter storms, Texan grid operators faced an unusual surge in demand for midwinter power—one they were not prepared for.