Four of the five extreme risk scenarios ERCOT considered would leave the grid short a significant amount of power, which would trigger outages for residents.
Hope for a normal Texas winter weather, otherwise we could be left in the cold again.
Does not seem like a reasonable way to operate a grid.
I was wondering if the same Texas Tribune had a “warning” article BEFORE the blackouts.
How much have individual Texans done to prepare for the loss of power this winter?
Probably less than ERCOT
After last February’s debacle, I’ve wired my house for generator backup. The problem is…the generator I ordered is on backorder. 
Same here, mine has a 9 month backlog with an install date for February 2022
My guess is neither has done much. I’m hoping we don’t have to go through it all again and find out.
Personally, I was caught off-guard and unprepared last year and after 3 days of cold introspection, I knew exactly what I needed to do before it happens again.
Fool me once…
I would only do 2 things:
Keep 5 gallons of gas on hand vs. the 1 I had for the lawnmower
Tarp off the stairwell to keep the heat downstairs.
I’m also getting a quote from an electrician to allow me to plug my generator into the house. Should cost about $1,000
The main thing I did was have an interlock switch and plug installed for the generator. Works like a charm.
Built a nice covered patio that includes the area around my breaker panel so I leave my 10kw generator covered in the area it needs to be. I crank it up about once a month to keep it maintained. I bought some additional 5g cans that I plan to fill up before I need fuel, but not too early because I don’t enjoy storing that much for long.
Good ideas, but I’m not sure 5 gallons of gas for generator(?) would be enough.
I like the idea of getting a way to plug the generator into your home. That’s a lot
cheaper solution than the turnkey things being sold from generac and others. I’ve
seen stories and youtube videos of do-it your-selfers taking that path too. I thought
about going that route as well, before signing the contract.
I only used a couple of gallons last winter. My power was out less than 16 hours. I load up in the summer and store 22.5 gallons for hurricane season.
I was without power for 32 hours. House got down to 38 degrees. I thought I could get away with dripping all interior faucets…no dice…had busted pipes.
I wasn’t home when the water started gushing. Thankfully the Mrs. was home and she knew where to turn the water off. I now know what to do to keep that mess from happening again.
Using the home gas line as the primary generator fuel. Installing a kit on the gen that will allow propane or gasoline fuel as backup.
I’m just hoping its a once in 100 year freeze, like the 100 year flood events.
Shade… 
I’m going with gas line option too, but no backup fuel option.
My other option was propane or diesel and there are things about each I dislike.
I will go with a big solar option in a couple of years with power walls , but that’s down
the road. I went 44 hours without power. House had pex plumbing and it survived the
freezing which was the only pleasant surprise from it all.
With the hurricanes and freezes it’s worth it to me.
My new F150 V8 has a plug in the back to generate power for my house if needed. There is a pretty cool commercial about it.
22kw Generac ,with natural gas as fuel. We got the 10 year warranty.
Don’t mess around. get some kind of generator to run refrigerator and central heat ! It will happen again !
I’ve installed a generator
During our two week power outage from Hurricane Ike, my dad wired up a plug for me. It’s two 110 plugs wired into a 220 plug. Plug the 220 end into the electric dryer outlet, and plug each of the two 110 ends into extension cords, which are both plugged into the generator.
The two 110 plugs send power to the entire house and runs every outlet in the house. Only thing we can’t run is the AC, electric furnace, or dryer (obviously). But it’s enough to keep fridge, freezer, lights, fans, portable heaters, TVs, internet, etc. and make life easily bearable.
I’m no electrician (had to take my single electrical engineering course four times before I passed it) but it cost my Dad about ten bucks to wire up. The only thing I do is cut off the power at the breaker box…and obviously keep the generator outside. Then you spend 8 hours a day driving around trying to get gas to keep the whole system running the next day. 
All good, but all you do it yourselfers thinking about doing it solo, please get licensed electrician to do the work and consider possibility that your homeowners insurance may not cover you if there is
a fire.
That’s the one I’m getting, and it’s air cooled one. I have not bought the warranty or yearly servicing of unit, do but considering it. Did you go with their internet monitoring of the generac as well ? I forgot what monthly fee was for that.
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