ERCOT and Statewide Grid Conditions

With improving grid conditions, The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) — the Texas grid manager — ended emergency conditions Friday, Feb. 19.  

Electric utilities across the state, including Austin Energy, are working quickly and safely to fix outages caused by the severe winter weather.  

Find out how we’re working to get the power back on  

Conservation Where Possible Is Still Important  

For customers experiencing an outage, circuits can be overloaded by restored power because of lights, electronics and thermostats left on prior to the issue. This is called cold load pickup and can cause a second outage on that circuit.  

  
You can help us avoid cold load pickup by:  

• Lowering your thermostat.  
• Turning off or unplugging any fixtures or appliances.  
• Only leaving on one light to indicate when the power is back on.  

These measures will help gradually add load to the circuit.  

For those with power, conservation continues to help. You can:  

• Keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower, if possible.  
• Keep doors and windows closed to minimize hot air from escaping the home.
• Unplug nonessential electronics as they still draw current.  
• Avoid using large appliances.