[sbe-eas] How Texas plans to communicate with you if another winter storm leaves us in the dark

[Sean Donelan]

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/article256686832.html


[...]
ERCOT, the state’s power grid operator, also has a new strategy for social 
media.

“ERCOT keeps its communication tool on the sideline in case of emergency,” 
Lake said. “They’re not tweeting about the weather. ... If you see a tweet 
from ERCOT, it’s serious. This is an emergency tool, communication tool. 
We will only use it in case of emergency.”

About one in five Americans are active on Twitter, according to the Pew 
Research Center.

Senate Bill 3, the state’s grid reform bill, establishes an emergency 
alert system for power outages similar to a Silver or Amber Alert.

A rule related to the system and when it would be activated is pending 
before the commission. Comments are due Jan. 11.

“It’s never going to be, kind of, fly by wire again,” Lake said. “So it’s 
an entirely new communication protocol.”
[...]