A major winter storm has left hundreds of thousands of Americans without electricity. At the time of writing, there are more than 760,000 Americans without power. Tennessee is the most affected state, with 238,039 residents without electricity, followed by Mississippi (156,433), Louisiana (117,440), and Texas (50,034).
President Trump approved 12 federal emergency disaster declarations for Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia ahead of the storm.
FEMA stated that the emergency declarations are “historic” and affect “12 states covering nearly 900 counties & parishes & 4 Tribal Nations.”
According to a report by Fox Weather, fifteen people have died from the storm across Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts. Hundreds of accidents have also been reported, with 150 occurring in Dallas, Texas.
The weather is expected to persist, as the National Weather Service says on its website that the “major winter storm will continue to impact the Northeast U.S. today with heavy snow as it shifts away from the East Coast.”
“Frigid temperatures will impact the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. this week, and numerous record lows are forecast. Sub-zero lows are expected nearly every morning from the Northern Plains through the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast,” it says.
Ahead of the storm, the Department of Energy (DOE) prepared to prevent blackouts and keep the energy grid stable. In a letter sent to grid operators, the DOE urged consistent communication to be made and for preparations to be taken in order to make backup generation resources available. “Across the country there are gigawatts of readily available backup generation that have remained largely untapped until now. This backup generation can and should be used to save American lives and avoid billions of dollars in economic devastation, as energy subtraction policies of the previous administration cause acute scarcity events.”
“We have identified more than 35 GW of unused backup generation that exists across the country and are taking action to ensure that if the nation needs it, the generation will be made available,” Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement accompanying the letter. “Rest assured, President Trump and the Energy Department remain committed to doing everything in our power to mitigate blackouts and lower energy costs for the American people.”
