Texans, what's the attitude/feelings/preparations towards the coming freezing weather?

Our governor is incompetent as fuck

Is the rule don't assume incompetence when evil is the simpler answer.

/s
- I mean Abbott is pretty fucking evil, like limiting payouts after taking a massive payout from getting crushed by a tree.

Fairly more optimistic than the previous years because there's no rain in the forecast this time. Freezing is more manageable if there's no ice everywhere. Of course there's still the danger of pipes bursting because of lack of winterization. Then the most obvious, the fear of losing power.

Seems like it'll be cold

Gonna make sure my faucets have a slight drip and the outdoor ones are covered.

Other than that, we've got a kerosene heater and a jackery battery that's been charging for a few days now. We'll use that for charging phones/plugging in our wifi if the electricity goes out again!

I don't have solar power, so the lights might still go out, but I still have a natural gas heater so I'm probably fine. I'm hoping we can keep the roads clear because I don't want to use PTO until I can enjoy my time off.

Natural gas furnaces still need electricity to run the blower and exhaust fans
- Neat, my heater is literally a gas burner on the wall, so it will work without electricity.

Texas, please don't light camping stoves inside your houses this time, and please get carbon monoxide detectors.

Those photos a few years ago were painful to look at.

I'll probably be fine, but a lot of people won't be.

Just praying ERCOT has their shit together

LOL
How has praying worked in the past? Is it time for Plan B?
Did they gain any regulatory power since the previous disaster?
same

I haven’t heard much about it tbh, but I’m in Houston so maybe it won’t affect us this time. That being said, thanks for the heads up! Abbott and ERCOT sadly have the ability to outdo even the worst disaster responses.

I keep forgetting that February is always colder than January. Just when I think I've made it through the winter, here comes February.

If they bring a generator to the water pump near my house I'm shutting off my water and heading to my sister's house.

In 2021, the morning of the big freeze they parked a big diesel generator at the water pump. They told us there would be rolling blackouts, but we ended up losing power for 4 days. After it got down to 40° in my house, I drove halfway across the metroplex in snow and ice, with my kids, to my sister's house because she had power.

Her house is on the same grid as a hospital, she never lost power. Not even a blip. Mine is just a suburban neighborhood. I'm convinced they knew they were going to kill our power for an extended time, so they brought out the generator for their water pump. But they didn't tell us, so we were unable to properly prepare. So not only did a lot of people have damage that could have been prevented, but my kids now get scared every time it gets cold thinking we'll be in the same situation again.

Thankful there won't be ice, that was the biggest problem last time. As long as ercot can keep up with the elctricity demand, should be okay.

Hope like hell that my 2500w inverter generator can start my HVAC blower so I can run the gas heat

Winterize the camper. Maybe drip my pipes