The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout

KUT & KUTX Studios
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The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout

Millions of Texans lost power during a winter storm in February 2021. Hundreds may have died. And people wondered: “How could this happen in the energy capital of the U.S.?” To understand how we got the electric grid we have in Texas today, you have to understand the electric grid we had up until a little more than 20 years ago — and how a group of power companies, environmentalists, cities and state lawmakers hatched a plan to completely remake it. Did the experiment fail? Hosted by Mose Buchele and produced at KUT & KUTX Studios.

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  1. EPISODE 1

    The Toll

    In the time since the blackout, state officials, ERCOT and power generators have tried to convince Texans that they’ve got things under control. But a lot of people aren’t convinced. And with good reason. In this episode, we’ll explore how the trauma of the blackout is still with us — and how we still haven’t dealt with the true toll of the disaster. We’ll hear from one family who lost an entire generation.

    36 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    The Money

    Texans have seen their electric bills rise dramatically since the blackouts last year. We’ll break down all the links in the electric supply chain that each need to get paid — and explain how we’ll still be paying the costs of the blackout for decades to come. The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of […]

    45 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    The Fixes

    A year and a half after the blackout, lots of Texans are still wondering if they can rely on the power grid. After conservation alerts and one pretty close call this summer, it can seem like the grid is still on a knife’s edge. We look at what’s changed, what hasn’t and how that lack […]

    46 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    The Midnight Connection

    We’ve already learned how Texas (or at least most of it) is an energy island — mostly cut off from grids in other states. In this episode, we’ll hear about the time when one power company went rogue and threw a transmission line across the Oklahoma border. This is the story of why they tried […]

    34 min

  5. BONUS

    BONUS: The Megawatt We Don't Use

    We’ve talked about the supply-side fixes — but what about the demand side? The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations in the state. It received support from FRONTLINE’s Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L. Knight […]

    19 min

  6. BONUS

    The Campaign

    Nearly two years after the big blackout in Texas, how big of an issue is the power grid in the 2022 race for governor? We talk with Julian Aguilar, a reporter for the Texas Newsroom. The Disconnect Season 2 is a project of The Texas Newsroom, the collaboration among NPR and the public radio stations […]

    18 min

  7. BONUS

    The Texas Grid Under Pressure

    In this bonus episode, you’ll hear a panel of experts we brought together to mark two years since the 2021 blackout, where we discuss the future of the Texas grid in the face of climate change and the increasingly extreme weather linked to it.

    1h 26m
See All Season 2 (7)

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Millions of Texans lost power during a winter storm in February 2021. Hundreds may have died. And people wondered: “How could this happen in the energy capital of the U.S.?” To understand how we got the electric grid we have in Texas today, you have to understand the electric grid we had up until a little more than 20 years ago — and how a group of power companies, environmentalists, cities and state lawmakers hatched a plan to completely remake it. Did the experiment fail? Hosted by Mose Buchele and produced at KUT & KUTX Studios.

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