How to Prepare for a Winter Storm in Texas: Your Home, Your Power, and Your Plan

Preparing for a winter storm in Texas means getting your home ready for a hard freeze, preparing your household for a power outage that could last days, and understanding how your electricity plan may affect the cost of keeping warm.

The first two are familiar parts of storm prep. The third is easier to overlook until the bill arrives. This guide covers all three for Texans who may face severe winter weather.

Most Texans are served by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power grid. ERCOT has relatively limited connections to neighboring power grids, so it cannot rely on large imports of electricity when demand rises across Texas at the same time. A widespread cold snap can therefore create a supply-and-demand challenge within the state’s grid.

Freezing weather can increase demand while reducing available generation. Homes using electric heat draw more power, while cold conditions can affect power plant equipment, natural gas production and delivery, and wind generation. If available reserves become too tight, ERCOT may ask Texans to conserve electricity. In more severe conditions, it can direct Transmission and Distribution Utilities (TDUs) to use controlled outages to protect the broader grid.

ERCOT’s outlook for the coming winter is the most useful source for current grid conditions. The organization now publishes a Monthly Outlook for Resource Adequacy, or MORA, rather than the former seasonal assessment, and releases each report about two months before the month it covers.

A winter storm preparedness checklist helps you protect your home and avoid a last-minute trip for supplies when roads may be unsafe. Start preparing before the forecast turns urgent, especially if your household depends on electric heat, medical equipment, or well water.

What to Do Before a Winter Storm Arrives

• Charge essential devices. Fully charge phones, laptops, battery banks, and rechargeable lights. Your phone may be the easiest way to receive weather alerts and report an outage.
• Set your thermostat with the cold ahead in mind. Avoid waiting until the house is already cold to adjust it. Learn where to set your thermostat to balance comfort and electricity use.
• Locate your main water shutoff valve. Make sure everyone who needs to know can find and operate it before a pipe bursts.
• Protect exposed pipes. Cover outdoor faucets and insulate pipes in unheated areas, such as garages, attics, and crawl spaces. During a hard freeze, let vulnerable faucets drip.
• Replace a dirty HVAC filter. A clean filter supports normal airflow when your heating system is running for long stretches.
• Check the basics outside. Bring in hoses, clear gutters and drains where practical, and secure loose outdoor items before ice or high winds arrive.

Winter Storm Supplies to Have on Hand

Keep enough supplies for at least three days, and store them where they are easy to reach in the dark.

• Water, at least one gallon per person per day
• Shelf-stable food that does not require cooking, plus a manual can opener
• Flashlights, extra batteries, and portable phone chargers
• Blankets, sleeping bags, warm layers, and sturdy shoes
• A first aid kit and needed prescription medications
• A full gas tank, since many gas pumps cannot operate during an outage
• Some cash, since card readers and ATMs may be unavailable
• Food, water, medications, and a warm place for pets

Use flashlights instead of candles whenever possible to avoid introducing a fire risk.

If You Rely on Medical Equipment During a Power Outage

Texans who rely on electricity for medical equipment should contact their TDU well before storm season to ask about Critical Care Residential Customer and Chronic Condition Residential Customer designations. Critical Care status applies when a resident depends on an electric-powered medical device to sustain life, while Chronic Condition status may apply when electric-powered medical equipment or heating and cooling is needed to prevent significant deterioration of a serious medical condition. Keep in mind that a physician must submit the application to your TDU. You can confirm eligibility through the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT).

Critical Care designation is effective for two years. Chronic Condition designation is generally effective for 90 days, or up to one year for a physician-certified lifelong condition. These designations can provide certain notifications and customer protections, but they do not guarantee uninterrupted electricity during an outage, so be sure to make a separate backup-power or relocation plan with your health care provider.

How to Use Backup Power Safely During a Winter Storm

A backup generator can keep critical equipment or appliances running during an outage, but only if it is tested, fueled, and set up safely before the storm. Never run a portable generator inside your home, garage, basement, or any enclosed or partially enclosed area. Carbon monoxide can build up quickly and is deadly.

Operate portable generators outdoors at least 20 feet from doors, windows, and vents, with exhaust directed away from the home. Do not connect a generator directly to your home’s electrical system unless a qualified electrician has installed an approved transfer switch.

Two neighbors can run identical heaters through the same five-day freeze and receive bills that differ by hundreds of dollars because they have different electricity plans. Because of this, you should consider how your electricity plan will be affected by cold weather and other high-demand events before enrolling.

Below are some common electricity plan types and how extreme winter weather could impact your costs.

You can find all of these details in your plan’s Electricity Facts Label (EFL). It shows the plan’s rate structure, contract term, recurring charges, and any usage thresholds or bill credits in a standardized format. Review the EFL’s pricing at the 500, 1,000, and 2,000 kWh usage levels, along with the underlying pricing details that determine what you’ll pay, such as energy charges, delivery charges, bill credits, and usage requirements. Winter electricity use can be much higher than it is during a mild month, particularly in homes with electric resistance heat, heat pumps working through a hard freeze, or drafty older construction.

It’s important to understand that a fixed-rate plan does not make winter electricity inexpensive, and a variable or indexed plan is not automatically the wrong choice. The difference is predictability. Knowing how your plan prices higher usage gives you time to review the fine print, check your contract date, and decide whether your current plan still fits before severe weather puts it to the test.

Once the power goes out, report it to your TDU, not the Retail Electricity Provider (REP) that sends your electricity bill. Your REP cannot restore electricity service.

If you see a downed power line, stay far away, keep others away, and report it to your TDU or call 911 if there is an immediate danger.

Who Do You Contact During a Power Outage in Texas?

If you’re unsure which TDU serves your home, use Power Wizard’s ESID lookup tool. It identifies the utility for your address and provides the ESID number your utility may request when you report an outage.

The time to review your electricity plan is before cold weather arrives. Once a freeze is in the forecast, the choices available to you are mostly about reducing usage, not changing how your electricity is priced.

• Find your contract end date. Check your bill, online account, or EFL. A plan that expires in winter may move to a month-to-month rate if you do not take action.
• Check the rate structure, not just the advertised rate. Identify whether you have a fixed-rate, variable-price, indexed, or bill-credit plan. The plan type determines how your rate and bill may respond to high winter usage.
• Review last winter’s usage. Your online account should show previous bills or monthly kilowatt-hour use. Compare those numbers with the usage levels and any bill-credit thresholds listed on your current EFL.
• Compare plans using your average usage. When you’re shopping, consider how a plan’s pricing changes at your average usage level in both lower demand and higher demand periods.

A winter storm is the wrong time to discover what kind of electricity plan you are on. Enter your ZIP code into Power Wizard’s comparison tool to see the plans available at your address, view rate structures side by side, and know your exposure before the first freeze warning.