Governor Abbott "Disaster Declaration" Rings Hollow As SOS Questions If Texas Power Grid Is Prepared

TEXAS — Ahead of an oncoming winter storm, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration covering 134 counties across Texas. Abbott claims the declaration was made to “make sure that every possible resource can be made available,” but Sabotaging Our Safety warns the action rings hollow as Abbott has repeatedly failed to adequately enforce the winterization standards created after Winter Storm Uri in 2021. 

“Governor Abbott can issue all the disaster declarations he wants, but they mean nothing when his administration has spent years refusing to enforce the very winterization standards that were supposed to prevent another 2021 winter storm blackout,” said Sabotaging Our Safety Advisory Council Member and CWA District 6 Vice President (TX) Derrick Osobase. “Texans deserve a governor who will actually hold the natural gas industry accountable before the next storm hits, not after people have already frozen in the dark.”

The facts paint a damning picture of Abbott's failure to protect Texans:

In August 2025, the Texas State Auditor's Office released a devastating report revealing that state oil and gas inspectors are not adequately verifying that natural gas facilities are prepared for winter storms and are failing to enforce winter weatherization standards. This is particularly alarming because failures in Texas's natural gas supply chain were a major contributing factor to the 2021 blackouts that killed hundreds of Texans. 

Prior to an expected winter storm last year, Abbott declared  the power grid was more prepared than ever, saying “The fact of the matter is, the power grid has never been stronger than it is now. The power grid is more prepared, more stable and more resilient than it's ever been. There's every reason to be 100% confident the power grid is going to be able to withstand this challenge.”

But just months later, state auditors exposed dangerous gaps in the very systems that failed during the 2021 crisis — proving Abbott's confidence was misplaced and his administration's oversight was dangerously inadequate.

Yesterday, he made the same claim: “The ERCOT grid has never been stronger, never been more prepared, and is fully capable of hailing this winter storm,” despite warnings as recently as August 2025 that oil and gas inspectors are not adequately verifying that natural gas facilities are prepared for winter storms. 

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