This spring has been very rainy. A lot of thunderstorms, heavy rain, and just regular rainy days. I actually like it. At least it brings some variety, not only the Texas heat.
But almost every time we get a thunderstorm or heavy rain, we lose power. Best case — for a few hours. No electricity means no internet, no AC, and so on.
This video from my wife’s instagram Something interesting around
Mobile internet is almost useless in these moments. It can barely open websites or even update the weather app forecast.
At times like this, I remember my childhood in the village at my grandmother’s house in the 90s. Back then, we often lost power during thunderstorms too. And in that region, storms could last for a long time. Heavy rain could continue for weeks. All that time, we stayed without electricity. We sat inside the house with candles or kerosene lamps. Even now, I joke with my wife that maybe we should buy a kerosene lamp. But for now, we just use candles… romantic, right?
But this is not the 90s anymore, and we are in the United States. So why does this still happen?
There are a few reasons…
The energy infrastructure in the US is getting old. Many key power lines and transformers are already working beyond their expected service life. At the same time, the load on the grid keeps growing because of electric vehicles, data centers, industry, and renewable energy.
In Texas, the situation is even more complicated. The ERCOT grid is mostly isolated from the rest of the country. Extreme heat, winter storms, and fast population growth regularly push the grid to its limits.
There are some local improvements, like smart meters and drone monitoring. But the main problem is still the large transmission infrastructure. It needs serious modernization in the coming years.
Also, many power lines run close to trees, and the trees are not always trimmed in time. So during storms, branches fall and damage the lines.
In the area where we live, there are two electricity providers:
- Georgetown Utility Systems (GUS)
- Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC)
We have PEC, and we often lose power during storms. Our friends also live in Georgetown, but they have GUS, and they do not have the same problem.
Even during the winter storm in 2021, GUS restored power lines faster.
The US is supposed to be a developed country, but we still have problems like this.
So, what do you think — should we buy a kerosene lamp?
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