As the nation’s energy capital, it’s no surprise Texas ranks first in many energy-related metrics. One of those, unfortunately, turns out to be the number of power outages across the country over the last five years. There have been 263 power outages across Texas since 2019, more than any other state, each lasting an average of 160 minutes and impacting an estimated average of 172,000 Texans, according to an analysis by electricity retailer Payless Power.
Xcel Energy acknowledges its equipment was likely involved in Smokehouse Creek fire The Texas power grid is among the worst in the country when it comes to grid malfunctions, according to Bob Marshall, CEO of Whisker Labs, a company that develops sensors to prevent home electrical fires that also collect data to measure faults on local grids.