A huge catastrophe. Dozens dead. A city without power or water. It’s like a miniature version of the February blackouts.
Except this happened more than 100 years ago in Texas — and leaders faced some of the same questions then as they do now.
Episodes
March 10, 2023
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.
Listen
October 31, 2022
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 […]
Listen
September 8, 2022
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 […]
Listen
September 1, 2022
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 […]
Listen
August 25, 2022
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 […]
Listen
August 11, 2022
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 […]
Listen
August 4, 2022
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 […]
Listen
November 18, 2021
Texas lawmakers passed a law earlier this year requiring power plants to winterize — but what does that really mean? And what about winterizing other things that are needed to make sure the lights don’t go out in a storm again?
Listen
