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A look at more than a century of events that led up to the 2021 blackout and what happens now.

It's Been Six Months Since The Texas Blackout, Here's What's Happened Since

Ice covers power lines in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin on Thursday.
Julia Reihs
/
KUT
Ice covers power lines in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Austin after a major winter storm in February

The devastating blackout that hit Texas in February exposed weaknesses in every part of the state’s energy system. Physical breakdowns from natural gas wells to power plants slashed the amount of electricity available just when people needed it most. That scarcity helped drive the price of power to historic highs, leaving a financial cost that will take decades to settle.

In the months following, state lawmakers vowed to fix the system that had failed so dramatically. But what, really, did they accomplish?

That question is explored in the final episode of KUT’s The Disconnect, Power Politics and the Texas Blackout.

In The Fallout, you'll hear from Texans struggling to pay their bills, regulators struggling to explain their actions and an energy industry struggling to cover its ass.

This episode brings you from the freezing days of the blackout, through the finger pointing of last spring’s legislative session right up to today, when new laws meant to improve the state grid are slowly being put into effect.

Is the Texas grid any better off than it was before the blackout?

Mose Buchele focuses on energy and environmental reporting at KUT. Got a tip? Email him at mbuchele@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mosebuchele.
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