Toplines and Key Facts:

• Instead of fixing the energy grid, Gov. Greg Abbott and Republican legislators wasted time attacking Texans’ rights during the 2021 legislative session. 
• Millions of Texans lost power in February 2021 and hundreds died as a result of decades of deregulation and negligence from Texas GOP leadership. 
• Energy providers who profited off the winter storm raked in billions of dollars and gave $1 million to Gov. Abbott’s campaign.
• Texans can prep for another outage due to Republican inaction by storing water, keeping homes insulated and gas tanks full, and stocking up on non-perishables.

Ever feel a tad bit nervous sitting at home wondering when Texas’ unregulated and unreliable power grid might fail us again? 

That’s probably because instead of  fixing the energy grid this past legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas GOP wasted time and money attacking trans kids, abortion access, voting rights, and on other senseless things like a downpayment on a useless border wall.

While Abbott and his Republican cronies line their pockets with energy company money, we’re here to help you shift your rage over our incompetent state leadership into fuel to prepare for the GOP’s next failure:

1. Store, freeze and gather water. In preparation for a possible outage, be sure to keep a few extra gallons of water stored somewhere cool depending on your household’s size and on the amount of water you usually drink. Also, keep a few frozen containers of water inside of your freezer because it will keep the items inside cooler for longer when the electricity goes out. 

When an outage begins (if you have running water), take a few extra precautions in case it ends up  affecting your city’s local water facilities. Fill up your bathtub(s) and any available large containers. You might even want to invest in a small kiddie pool if you have room and don’t already have access to one. You could lay inside the small plastic container with a beverage of your choice and pretend to be Sen. Ted Cruz on a beach in Cancún, abandoning all worries like he abandoned Texans and his job. 

2. Cover your windows to keep your home cool and insulated. A large amount of heat enters our homes through our windows. With temperatures above 100 degrees this summer, you’ll want to do everything you can to keep as much of it out of your house. As soon as the power goes out, make sure to shut your windows if they are open, close your blinds and curtains. 

Look around to see if there’s anything you can place in between your windows and blinds to further insulate them. Large, cut-up pieces of cardboard could do the trick or aluminum foil (similar to the metallic windshield sun visors we put in our cars to keep the heat out). If only there was a metallic shield that could keep the Texas GOP out of our uteruses.  

3. Keep your vehicle’s gas tank full. Although many of us take our cars to the limit by nearing “E” more times than we’d like to admit, it’s important now more than ever to keep our gas tanks as full as possible. If a power outage occurs, you’ll need to have enough gas in your vehicle to drive somewhere in case of an emergency, especially if all of the nearest gas stations are full with long lines. 

If you end up having to go to a gas station, here are some conversation starters to use to chat with folks in line:

• “Are you registered to vote at your current address?” 
• “Raise your hand if you feel personally victimized by Gov. Greg Abbott!”
• “I’m sure Abbott’s border wall investment is gonna come through and save us from this energy grid failure...amiright?!

4. Stock up on non-perishable food and prescription medication. It’s always a good idea to have at least a few days worth of food stocked up, especially if grocery stores run out of essentials. A few examples are: granola, peanut butter, nuts, dried veggies/fruit/meats, canned fish, canned beans, etc. 

Pharmacies might also get packed with folks trying to fill up on prescriptions at the last minute so make sure that if you depend on any medicine, to have a good amount in stock to last you a few days. If only the Texas Legislature had passed more of the proposed marijuana legislation, this could’ve been a nice thing to stock up on...for medicine. 

5. Light up with solar energy. Did you know you can harness the power of the sun for electricity?! The same can also be done with wind, but Republicans don’t believe in renewable energy or common sense, so here we are. Aside from relying on a few candles, look into purchasing solar powered lights, battery chargers or radio chargers to keep your cell phones on, see at night and listen to any important announcements on the radio. 

Important: If you feel the need to start a fire for light, heat, cooking etc. (because unfortunately - all of our deregulated guns won’t keep us warm), do it safely outside and make sure to purchase a carbon monoxide detector for the inside of your home to detect any dangerous gas leaks. 

6. Prepare to Vote! As you dig into a can of warm tuna while sitting outside in your plastic kiddie pool under the blazing Texas sun contemplating which arctic ski resort Ted Cruz must’ve slithered off to, make sure to remember this exact moment as you head to the polls this November to vote Abbott and other Republican legislators out of office.