Full Title: The Timeline and Events of the February 2021 Texas Electric Grid Blackouts
Author(s): Carey W. King, Josh D. Rhodes, Jay Zarnikau, Ning Lin, Erhan Kutanoglu, Benjamin Leibowicz, Dev Niyogi, Varun Rai, Surya Santoso, David Spence, Stathis Tompaidis, Hao Zhu, Erik Funkhouser, Brent Austgen
Publisher(s): The University of Texas at Austin Energy Institute
Publication Date: July 14, 2021
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
This report recounts the factors contributing to disruptions in electricity and natural gas service in Texas during Winter Storm Uri, with a particular focus on blackouts on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid during the period from February 15-18, 2021. Our goal is to create a common basis of fact to educate the debate over strategies to avoid similar problems in the future. We specifically limited the scope of this report to the events during February 2021, a comparison of the February 2021 event to the previous energy system disruptions in 1989 and 2011 during winter storms, and the economic consequences of the event in February 2021. An appendix describes the long-term evolution of the ERCOT electricity market and provides historical context.
This report is not intended to comprehensively address all issues stemming from such a complex event, but may inform subsequent assessments. This report does not recommend policies or solutions.