Winter weather preparations begin ahead of approaching cold front

HOUSTON - As we talk about a potential wintry mix for this Thursday, many locals tell FOX 26, they are much more prepared for freezing temperatures as they think back on the Cold Freeze of 2021.

The freeze, which was traumatic for many, overloaded the state’s power grid and caught many off guard.

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"It freezes all the time here, we expect a freeze every winter, but that impacted me to a point where I had to go to some basic survival skills," said Aaron Smith.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas or ERCOT filed its final winter weatherization readiness report for the season with the Public Utility Commission of Texas Tuesday. 

In the report they say, 320 of the 324 generators they inspected met new weatherization standards. But FOX 26 dug in further and learned there are more than 650 generators feeding into the ERCOT grid and officials only checked the ones that failed in February of last year. 

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As we learn more about the cold front and potential impacts to the area, Area contractor and plumber, Armando Bermudez tells us double-checking your wrapped pipes from last year would be a good idea. 

"And then of course for the people who didn’t wrap their pipes, I do recommend them to do it," said Bermudez. "I recommend you get your water running a little, running the water bill a little is cheaper than replacing pipes."