{"id":11314,"date":"2024-12-18T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/?p=11314"},"modified":"2024-12-13T12:22:07","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T18:22:07","slug":"is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>Are We Winter 2025 Ready?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Winter-2025-Ready-heat-caulking-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Get ready for Winter 2025, Texas. Even though both the PUC and ERCOT say they're ready, Texas winters can be unpredicatable. Learn what to expect and ways to get your home ready for the cold.\" class=\"wp-image-11335\" title=\"Are We Winter 2025 Ready?\"\/><figcaption><center><em>The winter 2025 forecast has both the PUC and ERCOT saying they&#8217;re ready. But, winters in the Lone Star state can suddenly turn into severe cold. Learn what&#8217;s being done and some ways to get your home ready.<\/em><\/center><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Winter is near, and Texans wonder if the power grid can handle harsh weather. The effects of Winter Storm Uri in 2021 still linger in Texans&#8217; collective memory. Since then, grid operators and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/companies\">light companies<\/a>  have promised fixes. But is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/\">Texas electricity<\/a> truly winter 2025 ready? Let\u2019s find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Oncor\u2019s Plan: A Step Forward<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>Public Utility Commission (PUC)<\/strong> recently approved a $3 billion System Resiliency Plan from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/utility-companies\/oncor-energy\"><strong>Oncor<\/strong><\/a>. This plan aims to update the grid and make it more reliable. <strong>Oncor<\/strong>\u2019s updates include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Replacing older items, such as poles and crossarms.<\/li><li>Automating underground systems to quickly address outages.<\/li><li>Adding ties between substations to improve flexibility.<\/li><li>Enhancing online security measures.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These updates will reduce power outage times and improve the grid\u2019s ability to recover from severe weather. <strong>Oncor<\/strong> says these changes will start now. It\u2019s a big step forward, but <strong>Onco<\/strong>r\u2019s grid upgrades make just one piece of the puzzle. <strong>PUC<\/strong> is mulling over plans from other utility firms. Plus, there\u2019s questions about what <strong>ERCOT<\/strong> can do.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>ERCOT: Bright Eyed or Too Confident?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The state&#8217;s grid operator, <strong>ERCOT<\/strong>, recently shared its winter weather update. CEO Pablo Vegas says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kvue.com\/article\/news\/local\/texas\/ercot-ceo-pablo-vegas-texas-grid-winter-outlook\/269-20067b84-09ae-4a43-a6c4-2c26bed182c2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the grid is better prepared than ever<\/a>. He cites over 10,000 MW of new power generation added since last year. <strong>ERCOT<\/strong> has also done nearly 3,000 inspections to ensure power plants meet weatherization standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But critics say <a href=\"https:\/\/www.douglewin.com\/p\/ercot-still-doesnt-understand-winter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong>ERCOT<\/strong> may be overestimating its readiness<\/a>. So, is <strong>ERCOT<\/strong> out over its skis? Some argue that <strong>ERCOT<\/strong> doesn\u2019t fully account for extreme winter demand or the state of natural gas infrastructure. During Uri, frozen natural gas supply lines led to mass outages. But has enough been done to prevent this from repeating?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>ERCOT<\/strong> warns of a greater than average chance of extreme cold this winter. While <strong>ERCOT<\/strong> predicts a warm, dry winter overall, a polar vortex breakout remains possible. With demand for power higher than ever, questions remain about the grid\u2019s ability to hold up against extreme cold.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Make Your Home Winter 2025 Ready<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While Texas works to improve its grid, homeowners can take steps to get winter 2025 ready. Simple upgrades can protect against cold and lower energy bills year-round:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Seal air leaks:<\/strong> Use weather stripping or caulk around doors and windows. This keeps the cold air out and the warm air in.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Add insulation:<\/strong> Focus on attics, walls, and floors to keep heat inside. These key areas give you the most bang for your buck.&nbsp;<\/li><li><strong>Upgrade heating systems:<\/strong> Newer models use less power and keep homes warmer. Products with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energystar.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Energy Star<\/a> label use the least energy.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These changes not only protect during winter but also reduce cooling costs in the summer. And that makes for savings all year!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Texas has made progress since 2021, but gaps remain. <strong>Oncor<\/strong>\u2019s actions and <strong>ERCOT<\/strong>\u2019s reviews are positive steps. Yet, natural gas reliability and grid demand pose challenges. Texans can play their part by preparing their homes for whatever winter brings. Plus, you can also shop for a cheaper power plan at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/electric-rates\">http:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/electric-rates<\/a>. Together, we can make strides toward being truly winter 2025 ready.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are We Winter 2025 Ready? Winter is near, and Texans wonder if the power grid can handle harsh weather. The effects of Winter Storm Uri in 2021 still linger in Texans&#8217; collective memory. Since then, grid operators and light companies have promised fixes. But is Texas electricity truly winter 2025 ready? Let\u2019s find out. Oncor\u2019s <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":11334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_mbp_gutenberg_autopost":false},"categories":[258,259],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they&#039;re ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they&#039;re ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-18T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-13T18:22:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Texas-Winter-2025-Ready.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"697\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"501\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Michael Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Michael Roberts\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Blog\",\"description\":\"Compare the Best Electricity Rates in Texas\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\",\"name\":\"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-18T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-13T18:22:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3989cdfc19ff0a118c82ead87937ddc\"},\"description\":\"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they're ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3989cdfc19ff0a118c82ead87937ddc\",\"name\":\"Michael Roberts\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/043600e6db787d23037f19ff62785732?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/043600e6db787d23037f19ff62785732?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Michael Roberts\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/author\/m_roberts\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog","description":"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they're ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog","og_description":"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they're ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/","og_site_name":"Blog","article_published_time":"2024-12-18T12:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-12-13T18:22:07+00:00","og_image":[{"width":697,"height":501,"url":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Texas-Winter-2025-Ready.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Michael Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Michael Roberts","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/","name":"Blog","description":"Compare the Best Electricity Rates in Texas","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/","url":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/","name":"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready? - Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-12-18T12:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2024-12-13T18:22:07+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3989cdfc19ff0a118c82ead87937ddc"},"description":"Texas winters can be unpredictable but the PUC and ERCOT say they're ready for winter 2025. Learn why and how you can prepare your home.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/is-texas-really-winter-2025-ready\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Is Texas Really Winter 2025 Ready?"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e3989cdfc19ff0a118c82ead87937ddc","name":"Michael Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/043600e6db787d23037f19ff62785732?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/043600e6db787d23037f19ff62785732?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Michael Roberts"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/author\/m_roberts\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11314"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11314"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11314\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11337,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11314\/revisions\/11337"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.texaselectricityratings.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}