In what’s apparently the first major crisis of his second tenure as leader of the state capital, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson discussed the winter storm Thursday that rumbled through Central Texas, per reports from Austin-based media outlets.
Austin ABC affiliate KVUE reported that Watson, who succeeded Steve Adler last month, said to call the past three days a challenge was putting it lightly, empathizing with the thousands of residents without electricity.
"Like so many of our residents, I've been frustrated. I've been frustrated by the lack of power in our homes, including mine,” the mayor said, according to KVUE.
Austin Journal reported on Wednesday as the storm made its way through the region, nearly 200,000 residences and businesses were left in the dark after ice coated power lines, utility poles and tree limbs.
The publication reported that Gov. Greg Abbott insisted the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s power grid overseer, is prepared to meet the demand, and the outages have nothing to do with the durability of the grid.
“There is not anticipated to be any challenge to the power grid in the state of Texas,” Abbott said, Austin Journal reported citing Austin NBC affiliate KXAN.
Watson, a former state lawmaker, told KXAN that while people are making comparisons between the current situation and Winter Storm Uri, the former event was different but still presented a teachable moment for leaders and citizens.
“There are things that we should learn from this, and if we don’t learn from it, and we don’t do additional things to try to prevent … then shame on us,” he said, according to the station.
KXAN reported that Watson said one of the things the city plans to do to improve its response to cold weather incidents is ensuring vegetation is well protected.
As the storm barged in and triggered power outages from Austin to Georgetown, Austin Energy attempted to provide customers, whose memories of Uri remain fresh, with updates as to when they’ll have their electricity restored.
National Public Radio (NPR) reported the utility is unsure on an exact timeline even after warning residents to expect as much as a full day without power.
Per NPR, approximately 300,000 homes across Texas are in the dark as of Thursday.