Texas Power Grid Is Holding Up But Experts Warn It Is Still Vulnerable To Extreme Conditions

PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - All day, eyes have been fixed on the Texas grid.

So far, it has held up.

"The power grid is performing very well this time," said Governor Greg Abbott during a news conference Thursday morning.

During winter storms, demand for typically electricity goes up. This latest arctic blast has been no different. Friday morning, the state is expected to hit an all-time for electricity demand.

However, unlike last February, the electricity supply has so far been able to keep pace.

For most of the day, according to ERCOT, the grid has been operating with a 8,000 to 9,000 mega-watts in operating reserves. This is basically the cushion the grid has between how much electricity is being used and how much is on hand. When that number drops below 2,300 mega-watts, ERCOT is prepared to start controlled outages. The state has been nowhere near that mark during this latest storm.

When peak demand is anticipated Friday morning, temperatures in the Permian Basin - where most of the state's natural gas supply comes from - will be in the low-teens.  Natural gas fuels most of the state's power generators.

While Abbott pointed to improvements made to the grid in the past year, many experts said the reason Texas is not experiencing the same grid issues as last year has a lot more to do with the severity of this storm.

"We should not get complacent, and we shouldn't allow politicians to mislead us into thinking that they got us through this," said Adrian Shelley, director of the Public Citizen. "The fact is, we've done a little bit to improve the grid but, if we get through this one, it'll be as much due to luck as anything else."