They live through brutal winters, year after year. But the lights stay on. NBC 5 investigates what Texas can learn from colder states to prevent future disasters.

NBC 5 pinpoints power plants that had outages in both 2021 and 2011.

NBC 5 Investigates has learned the warning to conserve power that went out to Texans on Tuesday was not the first time that The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) had concerns about a short supply of electricity this week.

Just two months after massive power outages shut down the state, the Texas Electric Reliability Council issued an alert Tuesday afternoon asking Texans to conserve electricity over concerns there might not be enough power to meet demand.

NBC 5 Investigates looks at what ERCOT said – and didn’t say – before millions of Texans wound up in the dark

Members of the U.S. Senate waded into the Texas power crisis Thursday, at a hearing designed to probe what caused the massive outages that left millions without electricity in freezing temperatures.

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan announced a package of legislation Monday aimed at preventing a repeat of the deadly electricity crisis that left millions of Texans suffering in a winter storm.

NBC 5 Investigates has uncovered new information showing, in recent years, many Texas power plants that were spot-checked by ERCOT did not meet all of the power grid manager’s recommendations to guard against winter weather

Bill Magness, the ERCOT CEO who was voted out Wednesday night in the wake of last month’s statewide power disaster, said late Thursday he will not accept the $800,000 golden parachute he was eligible to receive after his ouster.

On Thursday, managers of Texas’ power grid are expected to receive a lashing in the first public hearings about the crisis at the state Capitol — where the belief that less government is better is reflected in a part-time Legislature that meets just once every two years, and only for 140 days.

The questions have carried into the night at the state capitol as lawmakers continue to press for answers from the people who run and oversee the state’s power system. All trying to figure out what caused the deadly and destructive outages that swept across the state last week.

The board that oversees ERCOT held an urgent meeting Wednesday morning to discuss the winter storm that crippled most of Texas last week. They offered apologies for the devastation the power outages have caused and pledged to gather the facts to help lawmakers determine how to prevent it from ever happening again.

Governor Greg Abbott took to the airwaves late Wednesday, promising action to prevent a repeat of the power crisis that devastated the state. He again pointed a finger squarely at ERCOT for assuring the public Texas would have enough electricity to weather a winter storm.