As Texans cranked up their heaters early Monday to combat plunging temperatures, a record surge of electricity demand set off a disastrous chain reaction in the state’s power grid. Reuters shows how a unique confluence of problems caused the shutdown reut.rs/2OPgY7g 1/4
Texas’ grid operator underestimated its need for reserve power capacity before the crisis, then moved too slowly to tell utilities to institute rolling blackouts to protect against a grid meltdown, energy analysts, traders and economists said reut.rs/2OPgY7g 2/4 
Before dawn on Monday, the state’s grid operator was ‘seconds and minutes’ away from an uncontrolled blackout for its 26 million customers, its CEO said reut.rs/2OPgY7g 3/4
Texas is the only continental U.S. state with an independent, isolated grid. It is also the only major grid that doesn’t have a capacity market, a system that provides payments to operators to be on standby to supply power during severe weather events reut.rs/2OPgY7g 4/4
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