Government
BY EMILY LINCKE
County mandates power backups at assisted living, nursing facilities Under a new fire code, the roughly 120 assisted living and nursing facilities located in unincorpo- rated Harris County will have until Jan. 1, 2026 to add emergency backup power systems, county leaders announced Jan. 8. The overview Harris County is the first in Texas to implement this fire code, which is designed to keep vulnera- ble senior populations safe during emergencies, Fire Marshal Laurie Christensen said Jan. 8. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones said the requirement for backup power systems will allow: • Safe facility temperatures to be maintained • Vital medical devices to be powered • Medications to be preserved
County invests $10.1M in solar panel project Harris County is one step closer to launching a $10.1 million pilot project to install solar panels at libraries and commu- nity centers following a unanimous vote by Harris County Commissioners on Jan. 9. What’s happening? Harris County’s two-phase Distributed Energy Resources pilot aims to make county facilities “less reliant on the electricity grid” and more resistant to power outages during weather events, according to Jan. 9 meeting documents. The project calls for solar panels, battery storage and dual-port electric vehicle charging stations. Construction on Phase I of the energy pilot began in January and is expected to wrap up by the first quarter of 2026.
The new fire code was approved following Winter Storm Uri and Hurricane Beryl—which induced widespread power outages—and resulted in:
At least 1 senior death due to extreme heat during Hurricane Beryl 14 nursing homes and 30 assisted living facilities in Harris County losing power for several days during Hurricane Beryl 10% of nursing homes and nearly 33% of assisted living facilities across Texas losing power during Winter Storm Uri 100 senior deaths due to hypothermia in Texas during Winter Storm Uri
SOURCE: HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT 4/COMMUNITY IMPACT
• Emergency communications to be made • Evacuations to be safer
Facilities will be given one year to get into com- pliance with the new fire code, and county leaders plan to provide guidance and support during the transition, Briones said.
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