Abstract
On Monday, February 12, approximately three million homes and businesses in Texas lost power due to an unusual winter storm that simultaneously increased electricity demand and decreased supply. This was not the first time; Texas had a similar incident due to cold weather in 2011.
Severe weather is a frequent cause of large-scale blackouts. For instance, in 2012, the Northeastern region of the United States suffered extensive power outages due to Hurricane Sandy. The hurricane toppled many distribution lines, resulting in several million residents not having electricity for up to two weeks.
