State
State
BY HANNAH NORTON
As a far-reaching arctic blast moved toward Texas on Jan. 22, ocials assured residents that the state power grid would withstand the storm and future severe weather. Five years earlier, Winter Storm Uri blanketed Texas, devastating a power grid that was unprepared for the historic February 2021 storm. Nearly 250 people died during prolonged power outages across the state, Community Impact reported. State leaders said they will ensure issues from 2021 do not occur this year, emphasizing that changes have been made in recent years to harden the grid against extreme weather. Texas projects stable power grid through March
Texas families can apply to receive state funds for private education or homeschooling from Feb. 4-March 17 under the state’s new education savings account program, known as Texas Education Freedom Accounts. Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, most families accepted into the $1 billion program will receive $10,474 per student to spend on private education and related expenses. Students with disabilities will be eligible for up to $30,000 annually, while homeschooled students will receive up to $2,000 per year. Over 1,000 private schools and pre-K providers, many of which are located in and around Texas’ largest cities, will participate in the program, according to the state comptroller’s oce. ESA applications open in February
Approved Texas private schools As of Jan. 14, 1,014 private schools had been approved to accept education savings accounts. Texas has over 1,300 accredited private schools.
Zooming in
What to expect
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas forecasts the tightest period this February through March will be from 7-8 a.m. daily, when little to no solar power is being produced. During that time, ERCOT found the chances of a grid emergency are 1.13% in February and 1.64% in March. Texans last saw a grid emergency during a September 2023 heat wave, per ERCOT records. The state grid withstood three freezes in early 2025 without ERCOT asking residents to conserve power, Community Impact previously reported. “The power grid system we have today is completely dierent than the power grid system we had [in 2021],” Gov. Greg Abbott said during a Jan. 22 news conference in Austin. “We have abundant power, [and] the reliability of it has never been better.”
If demand for the education savings account program exceeds the $1 billion available, the comptroller’s oce will use a lottery system to determine acceptance, with priority for students with disabilities and low-income families. To be eligible for the program, a student must: • Reside in Texas • Be a U.S. citizen or lawful resident • Be eligible to attend a Texas public school, open-enrollment charter school or pre-K program Students must be enrolled in a pre-K program or private school to receive the $10,474 in private education funding, according to the program website. This means that some families may need to apply to private schools before they are accepted into the ESA program.
1 Houston area: 297 2 Dallas-Fort Worth area: 262 3 San Antonio area: 134
7 Rio Grande Valley: 46 8 Central Texas: 30
9 West Texas: 27 10 El Paso area: 12 11 North Texas: 11 12 Panhandle: 9
4 Austin area: 89 5 East Texas: 49 6 South Texas: 48
Community Impact coverage areas
THE COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE PERIODICALLY UPDATES ITS DATABASE AS ADDITIONAL SCHOOLS ARE ACCEPTED INTO THE PROGRAM.
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Gov. Greg Abbott listens to a Jan. 22 weather brie ng about a winter storm impacting Texas.
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HANNAH NORTONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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In recent years, tens of thousands of megawatts of capacity have been added to the grid annually. Energy providers are also required to “weatherize” their facilities to withstand extremely hot or cold temperatures, Community Impact previously reported.
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SOURCES: TEXAS COMPTROLLER’S OFFICE AND TEXAS PRIVATE SCHOOL ACCREDITATION COMMISSIONCOMMUNITY IMPACT
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