The Blackout in Texas

<p>An intense winter storm has plunged Texas into darkness. The state’s electricity grid has failed in the face of the worst cold weather there in decades.</p><p>The Texas blackouts could be a glimpse into America’s future as a result of climate change. Today, we explore the reasons behind the power failures.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/clifford-krauss?smid=pc-thedaily">Clifford Krauss</a>, a national energy business correspondent based in Houston for The New York Times; and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/brad-plumer?smid=pc-thedaily">Brad Plumer</a>, a climate reporter for The Times. </p><p>For an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. You can read the latest edition <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/column/the-daily-newsletter">here</a>.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Systems are designed to handle spikes in demand, but the wild and unpredictable weather linked to global warming will very likely<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/climate/texas-power-grid-failures.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> push grids beyond their limits</a>.</li><li>As a winter storm forced the Texas power grid to the brink of collapse, millions of people were submerged into darkness, bitter cold and a sense of indignation over being stuck in<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/16/us/texas-winter-storm-power-outages.html?smid=pc-thedaily"> uncomfortable and even dangerous</a> conditions.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily.</a> Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>