A Year After Winter Storm Uri, Gov. Greg Abbott Says Texas Ready for Freeze. Some Have Doubts.

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said the state is prepared to “robustly respond” to a winter storm expected to sweep the state this week. The storm could cause snow, sleet, ice and plunging temperatures in many parts of Texas.

At a press conference, Abbott said a “very substantial winter storm” is on the way, but the state has been preparing “for basically an entire year now,” referring to the deadly Winter Storm Uri that hammered Texas last February and left millions without power.

“First, I want you to know that we’re utilizing every applicable state agency to make sure that Texas will robustly respond to this extreme, cold winter storm that is going to be sweeping across Texas,” he said.

The governor also said that the state and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) “will provide staff 24/7” to “provide updates about utility and electric outages across the state.

“They are already bringing more generation online sooner than what happened last year,” he said. “They have additional crews already deployed.”

Between Feb. 13 and Feb. 17 last year, Winter Storm Uri resulted in more than 240 deaths, making it the deadliest winter storm since 1993. During the storm and afterwards, critics blasted Abbott and other state leaders for failing to keep the power on.

At one point during last year’s storm, some 13 million people were under boil water notices because of broken water lines and power outages at water treatment plants.

Abbott on Tuesday said “the time during the course of this winter storm when we are expecting the highest demand for power from the power grid, is going to be on Friday morning.”

Still, Abbott insisted that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, would have an “excess” of available power “even at the time of the highest demand.”

Abbott also warned motorists that the roadways are expected to “become treacherous,” referring to freezing and black ice that could occur on highways and interstates.

In Dallas-Fort Worth, warming centers are already gearing up to open throughout the cold snap. DART is also ready to possibly put in place an emergency weather schedule for commuters.

As of now, the state doesn’t expect the freeze to last more than 48 hours after it arrives Wednesday, and last year’s cold snap lasted some 139 hours, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Also at Tuesday's press conference, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw urged Texans to stay off the roads if they could. "There's no one skilled enough to drive an automobile at highway speeds, period," he said. 

The PUC chairman Peter Lake told reporters that the state's power grid is "reliable and ready" for the storm, adding that the grid and the transmission system "now meet and exceed federal winterization standards."

The interim president and CEO of ERCOT, Brad Jones, said that the grid is "more reliable than it's ever been in the past."

On Twitter, the Texas Democratic Party said families are "frantically preparing" for the storm around the state because "they can't rely on our rusty power grid or Greg Abbott to do anything about it."

On Monday, Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat challenging Abbott in the upcoming gubernatorial race, criticized Abbott over his handling of last year's storm. "He didn't listen to the experts and has failed to do anything since the collapse last February," O'Rourke said.

But it wasn't just Democrats criticizing Abbott. Don Huffines, a hardline conservative hoping to beat Abbott in the primary elections next month, tweeted advice to Texans for dealing with the storm. In addition to urging people to insulate outdoor faucets and stock up on food and water, among other tips, he said: "Make a plan to vote against Greg Abbott in the Texas GOP primary."