Lucio Vasquez

Texas' power grid has so far held up as winter storm Fern continues to bring freezing temperatures, snow and ice across the region.

The state's grid operator, known as ERCOT, says electricity supply has remained stable, even as demand rises during the cold snap.

So far, most outages reported have been localized.

As a precaution, the U.S.

Department of Energy issued an emergency order last week allowing ERCOT to tap backup power sources, including generators at large facilities.

The move comes nearly five years after the February 2021 winter storm, when widespread grid failures left more than 4 million Texans without power and contributed to hundreds of deaths.

The storm is still ongoing, but temperatures are expected to warm up a bit on Tuesday.

For NPR News, I'm Lucio Vasquez in Houston.

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation, working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all.

On the web at theschmidt.org.

Texas's power grid has so far held up as winter storm Fern continues to bring freezing temperatures, snow, and ice across the region.

The state's grid operator, known as ERCOT, says electricity supply has remained stable, even as demand rises during the cold snap.

So far, most outages reported have been localized.

As a precaution, the U.S.

Department of Energy issued an emergency order last week allowing ERCOT to tap backup power sources, including generators at large facilities.

The move comes nearly five years after the February 2021 winter storm, when widespread grid failures left more than 4 million Texans without power and contributed to hundreds of deaths.

The storm is still ongoing, but temperatures are expected to warm up a bit on Tuesday.

For NPR News, I'm Lucio Vasquez in Houston.

U.S.

District Judge Orlando Garcia says it would be, quote, impractical if not impossible to protect Texas students from unwelcome religious displays without blocking the law.