Freezing temperatures are in Texas this week from a push of severe winter weather.

The National Weather Service said there could be multiple nights of sub-freezing low temperatures, especially in the northern half of the state. The forecast shows that the polar vortex won't be a direct hit on the state but there will still be elements of winter weather moving throughout the state towards the east.

CenterPoint Energy said it is preparing for the winter season the best it can. However, the big question is can the grid hold up if colder winter weather hits and people start to use way more energy in response?

Energy Fellow at the University of Houston Ed Hirs said the state and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is not in a good enough energy position to combat severe winter weather.

"If ERCOT takes a direct hit, we could be in big trouble, especially with freezing precipitation," Hirs said.

Regardless how the winter weather affects the southern part of the state, Hirs said there are not enough power plants to withstand severe winter rushes. Plus, plants are deteriorating with coal and natural gas plants growing in age.

"We do not have enough power plants in Texas to meet the demand at night," he said. "Freezing precipitation or high winds will take the wind farms offline and we don't have enough coal, natural gas and nuclear power plants to meet the demand for Texas."

According to Hirs, the state has plenty of wind and solar plants to help during the day, but it's the possibility of freezing precipitation at night that makes him uneasy. Hirs also said that there have also been no new plants built since the winter storm that hit the state in 2021.

"The state is just in a much worse position and we are not having the leadership out of the legislature and the governor's office that we need to have," said Hirs.

Prior to the Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, ERCOT forecasted a 5% chance of rolling blackouts. Hirs said a similar storm hitting Texas would result in an 80% likelihood of rolling blackouts.

Hirs added that it doesn't help that the public utility commission, ERCOT and CenterPoint Energy don't have much credibility with the public at the moment.

"They don't have a level of public trust and certainly have not generated any credibility over the last four years since the grid went down in February of 2021," Hirs said.

Jimmy Barrett