Navasota, TX – February 16, 2021

The MidSouth electric distribution system has performed well for its members during this unprecedented cold weather event while also accommodating load reduction requests. Many years of planning and extensive maintenance programs show their worth during extreme weather situations. The artic storm caused minimal damage to MidSouth’s electric infrastructure, resulting in more reliable service for our members and less exposure to diminished road and working conditions for our linemen. The MidSouth team is preparing for another winter storm system Wednesday by strategically staging linemen, staff, and resources to accommodate the needs of our members.

MidSouth is unique compared to many other electric utilities in Texas because our system is split between Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO). During the initial ERCOT load reduction period early Monday morning, the engineering and system operator team of MidSouth did an exceptional job of adjusting quickly within minutes of the load reduction mandate. Through careful planning we are able to rotate power throughout our system. This effort gives members power to heat their home for a while before we shift that power to other members. By rotating power between members, MidSouth makes sure no one is without power for days. Rotating power takes extra effort and planning, but we know it is the right decision to make for our members.

These rotating outages last for approximately 30 minutes, however, the frequency and duration can change due to requirements from ERCOT or MISO. MidSouth has no control over the load reduction requirements but we comply until the power supply operators stabilize the grids.

We still want to emphasize that it is incredibly important the community take load reduction request seriously and do everything possible to conserve power. The fundamental fact is that this situation could last for several days and the focus is to avoid grid failure which could cause a total grid black out and take several more days to recover from.

For Updates:

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Outage Reporting: 936-825-5100 or text the word OUTAGE to 352-667

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