Abbott stops export of natural gas out of state until Sunday.

Producers told to keep supplies in the state; FEMA is sending generators, water, diesel

Gov. Greg Abbott is ordering natural gas producers not to export any supply out of state until Sunday, diverting that gas to power Texas’ troubled electric grid.

“I have, earlier today, issued an order … requiring those producers that have been shipping outside of Texas to instead sell that gas to Texas power generators,” Abbott said, speaking from the Alternate State Operations Center in Austin. “That will also increase the power that’s going to be produced and sent to homes here in Texas.”

Officials also touched on federal aid to the state, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency announced earlier Wednesday that it is sending generators, water and blankets to Texas and also plans to ship in diesel.

Millions of Texans have been left without electricity since early Monday morning, as the state saw a catastrophic failure of the power grid during this week’s severe winter weather and freezing temperatures.

About 2.7 million customers were offline as of Wednesday morning, officials said.

Abbott said additional power is coming back online through the day, mostly from nuclear and coal sources. Electricity has already been restored to about 1.2 million households since midnight Wednesday, Abbott said.

In a broad press briefing on the crisis, Abbott warned that Texas likely won’t come out of the “ultra-cold” conditions until Saturday, and transportation will remain challenging until then.

He also encouraged homeowners to start reaching out to plumbers and insurance providers to address potential pipe bursts that could flood houses. Abbott said he will loosen some licensing requirements for plumbers to meet the expected demand.

Abbott spoke little of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency responsible for maintaining the state’s power grid, a day after he railed against the organization for a lack of transparency and poor emergency response. On Tuesday, Abbott made ERCOT reform an emergency priority item in the current legislative session, and he called on the agency’s leadership to resign for its response to the crisis.

During a news conference on Wednesday, ERCOT President and CEO Bill Magness did not directly address Abbott’s calls to resign, saying an assessment of who is to blame will be completed “after we get the power back on.”

Both chambers of the Legislature plan to investigate the agency, with the state House scheduling hearings as soon as next Thursday.

ERCOT has declined to give an estimate on when power will be fully restored, saying the best-case scenario would be reducing rolling blackouts to an hour or less by Thursday.

Power officials have been conserving electricity in an effort to avoid a total grid meltdown that could wipe out power for weeks.

Meanwhile, a FEMA spokesperson said the agency had sent 60 “very large” generators to the state to help keep hospitals and other crucial infrastructure online.

The spokesperson could not say where the generators had been sent.

The agency also sent “millions of liters of water” and “tens of thousands” of blankets, she said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said FEMA is also “preparing to move diesel into the state to ensure the continued availability of backup power, which of course is a major issue on the ground to key critical infrastructure, including communications, hospitals and water.”

More assistance may be sent as requested by the state, federal officials said.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Texas over the weekend, and Psaki said the White House remains in close contact with state leaders, including Abbott.

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday issued a statement on the power situation in Texas that touted $50 billion in FEMA funding that Democrats are pushing in their latest COVID relief package and calling for “smart and urgent investments to reduce blackouts and brownouts.”

“All Americans are watching the situation in Texas and throughout the heartlands with great sadness,” Pelosi said.

“Together, we must build back better an electric grid that’s cheaper, cleaner and more reliable.”