Amid a winter storm that has plunged temperatures and blanketed much of North Texas in snow, Dallas and the surrounding cities have come to a standstill.
State and local officials are urging Texans to conserve energy as more than a million people experience rolling power outages statewide.
Before dawn on Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, declared a Level Three Energy Emergency Alert (EEA 3) as temperatures dropped well below freezing. The agency, which manages the state’s power grid, warned that rolling blackouts would continue through Monday and possibly extend into Tuesday.
“Every grid operator and every electric company is fighting to restore power right now,” ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness said in a statement.
Although outages were initially meant to last 15 to 45 minutes, blackouts are now expected to be “significantly extended,” Oncor officials tweeted this morning.
Around North Texas, schools and universities have canceled classes, most flights have been canceled at DFW and Love Field airports and authorities have encouraged drivers to stay off the roads.
In Dallas, officials urged residents to stay home or seek shelter. Across North Texas, more warming centers and shelters have opened their doors, according to local media reports.
In a series of tweets, Mayor Eric Johnson said residents should unplug appliances they aren’t using and “keep conserving” electricity.
