• Latest
  • Trending
Texas Disaster ‘Foreseeable and Preventable’, Houston Mayor Says

Texas Disaster ‘Foreseeable and Preventable’, Houston Mayor Says

February 22, 2021
Can Nigeria Sell Crude Oil in Naira to the Dangote Refinery?

Can Nigeria Sell Crude Oil in Naira to the Dangote Refinery?

March 2, 2021
Global Business Report

Global Business Report

March 2, 2021
Bill to Amend Nigeria’s Revenue Sharing Formula Passes Second Reading at Senate, 20% Proposed for Sovereign Fund

Nigerian Senate Affirms New Service Chiefs’ Appointment

March 2, 2021
Nigerian-born Professor Akande Gets UK Nomination as Representative to UN Commission

Nigerian-born Professor Akande Gets UK Nomination as Representative to UN Commission

March 2, 2021

Morning Show

March 2, 2021
Buhari Orders Nigeria’s Central Bank to Stop Issuing Forex for Food Importation

Ransom Payments Will Continue to Prosper Kidnapping, President Buhari Says After Release of Zamfara Schoolgirls

March 2, 2021
Three South Sudan Military Generals Die of Covid-19

Three South Sudan Military Generals Die of Covid-19

March 2, 2021

BREAKING: Nigeria Takes Delivery of 3.92m Doses of AstraZeneca Vaccines

March 2, 2021
Nigeria: DSS Releases Kano Governor’s Aide Dismissed for Criticising Buhari

Nigeria: DSS Releases Kano Governor’s Aide Dismissed for Criticising Buhari

March 2, 2021
‘Indecently Dressed Tourists’ in Zanzibar to Pay Fine

‘Indecently Dressed Tourists’ in Zanzibar to Pay Fine

March 2, 2021
Niger Opposition Leader Charged With Plot to Overthrow Government

Niger Opposition Leader Charged With Plot to Overthrow Government

March 2, 2021
Chad Opposition Leader Pulls Out of Presidential Race

Chad Opposition Leader Pulls Out of Presidential Race

March 2, 2021
Behind the Numbers: MTN Nigeria’s Record-breaking N1.3tn Revenue Year

Behind the Numbers: MTN Nigeria’s Record-breaking N1.3tn Revenue Year

March 2, 2021
Oil Prices Fall on Renewed Coronavirus Concerns as China Cases Mount

Oil Price Rebounds to $66 Ahead of OPEC Meeting

March 2, 2021
Ex-President Bartomeu, Others Arrested as Police Raid FC Barcelona

Ex-President Bartomeu, Others Arrested as Police Raid FC Barcelona

March 2, 2021
Chinese Vaccines Sweep Much of the World, Despite Western Concerns

Chinese Vaccines Sweep Much of the World, Despite Western Concerns

March 2, 2021
Betting on Death of Petrol Cars, Volvo to Go All Electric By 2030

Betting on Death of Petrol Cars, Volvo to Go All Electric By 2030

March 2, 2021
Name Schoolgirls’ Abductors, Nigerian Socio-cultural Groups Tell Zamfara Governor

Name Schoolgirls’ Abductors, Nigerian Socio-cultural Groups Tell Zamfara Governor

March 2, 2021
New York Governor Cuomo under Investigation By FBI for Nursing Home Deaths

Calls for Cuomo’s Resignation Mount as 3rd Sexual Harassment Accuser Emerges

March 2, 2021
Terrorists Attack UN Base in Nigeria’s Northeast Borno State, 25 Aid Workers Trapped

Terrorists Attack UN Base in Nigeria’s Northeast Borno State, 25 Aid Workers Trapped

March 2, 2021
Nigeria Threatens Second Lockdown Over Low Compliance with Covid-19 Protocols

Covid-19: Nigeria to Vaccinate 70% of Population Before 2022, SGF Mustapha Says

March 2, 2021
Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo Becomes First Recipient of Covid Vaccine from COVAX

Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo Becomes First Recipient of Covid Vaccine from COVAX

March 2, 2021
Zamfara Schoolgirls in Northwest Nigeria Released Early Hours of Tuesday

Zamfara Schoolgirls in Northwest Nigeria Released Early Hours of Tuesday

March 2, 2021
ARISE Newsnight

ARISE Newsnight

March 1, 2021
ARISE XCHANGE

ARISE XCHANGE

March 1, 2021
Nigerian Government Opens Portal for Covid Vaccination E-registration

Nigerian Government Opens Portal for Covid Vaccination E-registration

March 1, 2021

ARISE NEWSDAY

March 1, 2021
Former France President Sarkozy Found Guilty of Corruption, Sentenced to Prison

Former France President Sarkozy Found Guilty of Corruption, Sentenced to Prison

March 1, 2021

Global Business Report

March 1, 2021

Morning Show

March 1, 2021
en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
No Result
View All Result
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Arise News
  • HOME
  • Breaking
  • Global
  • Regional
  • BUSINESS
  • Politics
    • US ELECTION
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • TECH
  • Health
  • VIDEOS
  • Covid-19 Updates
Arise News
  • HOME
  • Breaking
  • Global
  • Regional
  • BUSINESS
  • Politics
    • US ELECTION
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • TECH
  • Health
  • VIDEOS
  • Covid-19 Updates
No Result
View All Result
Arise News
No Result
View All Result
Home Global

Texas Disaster ‘Foreseeable and Preventable’, Houston Mayor Says

February 22, 2021
Reading Time: 4min
0 0
0
Texas Disaster ‘Foreseeable and Preventable’, Houston Mayor Says

Craig Goldman

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Texas will hold hearings this week into how a winter storm cut millions off from utilities and killed dozens, a disaster which the mayor of Houston called “foreseeable and preventable”.

Texas State Representative Craig Goldman said on Sunday that power companies, including the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), and other stakeholders would take part in a hearing at the state legislature on Thursday.

“We’ve been through what we hope is a one-time historic event in our state,” Goldman said in an interview with NBC’s Lone Star Politics programme.

“Thursday begins the questioning of the stakeholders involved to find out if anything went wrong, what went wrong, who’s to blame and more importantly, what solutions moving forward we can do as a state legislature … to make sure that this absolutely never happens again.”

Millions of Texans suffered power outages and water service interruptions after a severe winter storm hit the state this week. Dozens have died as a result of the subzero temperatures, including some who reportedly suffered from hypothermia.

While power has been restored to most people across the state – about 36,000 homes remained without power on Sunday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.US – many Texans still do not have access to clean water.

State authorities have set up water and food distribution points to help residents.

On Saturday, President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration to unlock federal funding to help Texas state and local authorities respond to the crisis.

“Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster,” the White House said in a statement.

But as temperatures get warmer across Texas, many are questioning how the disaster happened – and calls are growing for accountability and concrete action to prevent a similar situation from happening again.

In an interview with the CBS programme Meet the Press on Sunday, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said the disaster was “foreseeable and preventable”.

“Our system in Texas is designed primarily for the summer heat, and not necessarily for a winter event. The reality is climate change is real, it is real, and these major storms can happen at any time,” Turner said.

“The system needs to be weatherised. We need to maintain adequate reserve. We need to open up our Texas grid because right now we have a closed grid.”

Turner also said the state must bear responsibility for any exorbitant electricity costs residents may be billed for.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that one resident of a Dallas suburb was charged $16,752 for power usage during the storm.

“Those bills, those exorbitant costs, should be borne by the state of Texas and not the individual consumers who did not cause this catastrophe this week,” the mayor said.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott held an emergency meeting on Saturday with the state’s lieutenant governor and members of the state legislature to discuss the spike in energy bills people are facing.

“We have a responsibility to protect Texans from spikes in their energy bills that are a result of the severe winter weather and power outages,” Abbott said in a statement, without providing details about what measures the state would take.

“We are moving quickly to alleviate this problem and will continue to work collaboratively throughout this week on solutions to help Texas families and ensure they do not get stuck with skyrocketing energy bills,” he said.

Abbott told reporters on Sunday that the Texas Public Utilities Commission would order electricity companies to pause sending customers bills, the Reuters news agency reported.

  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2020 Arise News - Part of the Arise Media Group.

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • Breaking
  • Global
  • Regional
  • BUSINESS
  • Politics
    • US ELECTION
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • TECH
  • Health
  • VIDEOS
  • Covid-19 Updates

© 2020 Arise News - Part of the Arise Media Group.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist