Freezing storm strains U.S. power grid as hundreds of thousands lose electricity

As wintry conditions and frigid temperatures gripped much of the United States, hundreds of thousands of residents and businesses — largely in the southern parts of the country — were left without electricity while the nation’s power system continued to face severe strain. Most outages resulted from snow piling up on electrical equipment and ice dangling from branches and power lines, causing them to snap.

The storm blanketed wide parts of the country with more than a foot of snow in some places and sheets of ice in others. With temperatures below freezing and electricity demand expected to stay high, outages could very likely expand. Officials warned the forecast remained uncertain: some weather models predict another storm, but meteorologists cautioned that the prediction was hypothetical.

Calvin Butler, chief executive of Exelon, said, “This next wave of ice that may be coming in is going to test the system even further,” adding that parts of the Southeast were not used to heavy ice. The storm is testing grids amid a sharp rise in electricity use from data centers, and the Department of Energy ordered the manager of Texas’s main grid, ERCOT, to direct data centers and other large users to switch to backup generators.

ERCOT had issued weather alerts but expected conditions to remain normal. Industry groups are coordinating responses and have helped deploy about 65,000 linemen and other workers; as Exelon’s Mr.

Key Topics

Business, Electric Grid, Ercot, Exelon, Data Centers, Winter Storm