Governor Abbott tweeted "...About 500,000 residential customers [were] having power restored." Even more should have their power restored this evening.
The state's power grid is getting back to normal today after Monday's unseasonably cold temperatures. Overnight lows this morning were in the upper teens in Lufkin, and today's high will reach about 46.
Even though weather experts are not expecting another long, hot summer like the one we had last year, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is searching for ways to keep the lights on through this summer and in the future.
The primary manager of Texas’ electric power grid is waving the red warning flags again. They say the state could set another record for power usage this week as the heat wave continues, and people need to use less electricity to keep the entire system from breaking down.
ERCOT -- the Electric Reliability Council of Texas -- says because of the unrelenting heat wave, the entire state is close to the crisis point in electricity usage, and people need to use less electricity.
The first Texas power plant to use renewable wood waste to generate electricity is close to powering up. The Aspen Power plant on Lufkin's north side is the first of its kind in the state of Texas, and one of only a handful in the entire country.