According to The Weather Channel, winter storm Mara will continue to bring arctic air and ice through major cities such as Dallas and Austin through Wednesday. Although this inclement weather has resulted in hazardous travel and flight cancellations, 

According to ERCOT, Mara will not cause major power outages across the state of Texas like Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 that left millions of Texans in the dark 

On Monday, officials at ERCOT said that they are confident that Texas will be able to avoid statewide power problems. As of 11:34 a.m, the grid is operating in normal conditions and there is enough power for current demand. 

In contrast, Uri caused more than two out of three Texans to lose power between  Feb. 14-20, 2021 according to a study conducted by the University of Houston. 

Uri exceeded ERCOT’s seasonal planning measures as DFW recorded 139 consecutive hours of at or below freezing temperatures. Five inches of snow was recorded at Dallas–Fort Worth International Airport between Feb. 14-17. In another report by the University of Texas at Austin, Uri caused the most loss of electricity despite not being the most severe storm on record. 

According to NBC News Channel 5, ERCOT predicted the peak demand to be 66,000 megawatts of power in comparison to the 77,000 of February 2021. One megawatt can power 200 homes. However, local power outages are more likely as ice could potentially take down power lines. 

“We’re experiencing a relatively low number of outages,” ONCOR spokesperson Juan Reyes said. “Right now we have resources and personnel positioned across our service area so if there are outages they are gonna be able to quickly fix them.” 

Coppell ISD announced via StudentSquare that all schools and administration buildings on Thursday will be closed due to inclement weather. The district hopes to reopen on Friday and will announce its decision Thursday evening. 

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