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Texas governor signs disaster declaration for 17 counties after 'significant icing event'

Even so, 70,000 Texans were without power following Thursday's winter storm, but Abbott said it's not a grid issue.

AUSTIN, Texas — Despite Thursday's winter storm being "one of the most significant icing events" Texas has seen in "several decades," Gov. Greg Abbott promised Texans the power grid was "resilient" and "performing very well at this time."

Abbott made the claim during a news conference in Austin with state authorities where he also mentioned he signed a disaster declaration for 17 counties -- including Bosque and Navarro Counties -- incase local power companies need help with power outages.

Using graphs as reference, Abbott first addressed the Texas grid. He said the power grid had more power available (10,000 megawatts to 20,000 megawatts) than the whole state's demand for the rest of Thursday and Friday.

"Texas has about more than 50% power capacity unlike last year," Abbott said. "There's been about 99 percent of power generators [that] pass[ed] inspection." 

He added that some generators, mainly natural gas, were cut off of power by companies because they weren't considered "critical infrastructure." As a result, they couldn't provide fuel to Texans who needed it. 

Since Winter Storm Uri, many were deemed critical, raising the number of those generators from being 1,000 to 2,900, Abbott said.

Even so, at the time of the news conference, he said 70,000 Texans were without power because of the storm. 

RELATED: Texas governor promises power grid is ready for winter storm

Similar to Tuesday's message, however, Abbott said those outages do not reflect the whole state's power grid. Instead, it is a local issue that's being addressed by local power companies, he said.

"The most probable cause of a power outage right now… is either because of heavy winds effected [local] lines or mainly an icing condition where icing itself could’ve brought down lines or ice could’ve weighed down trees that brought down line," he said.

Abbott continued to reassure Texans that the state will be assisting local power companies, as well as out-of-state companies, if they need help restoring power lines.

“Whatever reason why local power providers are unable to provide power to your house at this particular time, I want you to know that local power providers are bringing in extra resources to get those power lines up… and the state of Texas is helping them," he said.

In the state, he said 10,000 linemen are already working to assist with power lines to help restore power to the 70,000 homes that are without at the time. He added that 2,000 linemen are coming from out-of-state to also help assist in fixing any reported outages, thanks to his signing of a disaster declaration for 17 counties.

Read the declaration here.

To report an outage, Abbott said for folks to go to puc.texas.gov/storm. He also said people can access information about their power provider, too.

RELATED: Texas governor promises power grid is ready for winter storm

Watch the news conference below.

Overnight, the winter storm caused freezing rain with ice and sleet expected in our area, especially on the roads. Temperatures also dropped to the single digits.

For days, authorities have stressed that the biggest threat to Texans from the storm is ice and the icy conditions on the roads. They've asked the public to avoid the dangerous road and ice conditions the winter storm is expected to bring.

RELATED: How you can stay safe if you *have* to drive on icy roads during the winter storm

RELATED: LIVE TRAFFIC MAP | Road conditions, closures due to winter storm

On Wednesday, members of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas said they are not expecting any rolling blackouts either, which is a measure in response of the demand for electricity that exceeds the power supply capability.

Instead, the council said they plan to use every possible resource available to them before they ask Texans to conserve energy.

"I understand the concern and anxiety after the tragedy of last year, but folks should know we have implemented more reforms in this electric grid," said one chairman. "We've redesigned the way ERCOT does business, we passed winterization standards that meet and exceed federal regulation standards, and we developed an entire toolbox of resources ... to ensure reliability and make sure Texans are safe and warm during this winter event."

RELATED: 'Large scale ice storm': Texas state agencies warn winter storm ice impact biggest threat

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