Emergency Preparedness

Hurricanes. Tornadoes. Flash Floods. Earthquakes. Power Outages. Gas Leaks. An emergency can occur with little or no warning. You may have to evacuate quickly...or shelter-in-place. Take some simple steps now to prepare yourself, your family and your community for the unexpected.

Emergency Supply Kit Checklist (PDF)

Download the Free Disaster City® Guide Apple mobile application

Useful Links

• National Hurricane Center - Storm Watch
• NOAA's National Weather Service
• National Weather Service Hurricane Awareness Website
• Ready.gov Hurricane Preparedness Website
• FEMA Hurricane Information
• FEMA Hurricane Information - for Kids
• Evacuation Guidelines & Plans
• Search for Open Red Cross Shelters
• Texas Division of Emergency Management - Preparedness Information
• After a Hurricane - FEMA Recovery Information
• Tips on Returning Home

Hurricane Basics

• Hurricane Categories - Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale
• Storm Names
• Hurricane FAQs
• Hurricane Tracker - Web version

Fire Safety

• U.S. Fire Administration - Safety Topics

Get Involved

• www.Ready.gov
• Citizen Corps

More Information Resources

• FEMA YouTube Channel

You can reach the Committee office at 512-463-0365 or fax 512-463-1613.

PRESS RELEASE August 10, 2010

Print Version

ERCOT Breaks Record for Electricity Demand Again

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT), the electric grid operator for most of the state, set a new electricity demand record again today with 63,830 megawatts (MW) between 4 and 5 p.m. today. 

The new peak demand exceeds last week’s record of 63,594 MW (Aug. 4) by 236 MW, and last year’s record by 430 MW.  Prior to last week, the all-time peak demand record was 63,400 MW, recorded on July 13, 2009. 

Wind output averaged approximately 1,200 MW during the peak hour.  ERCOT currently has 9,317 MW of installed wind capacity, the highest of any state in the country. 

According to ERCOT’s annual summer assessment, the region has adequate generation to cover an expected summer peak demand over 64,000 MW and still maintain a 21 percent cushion of reserves to cover unexpected major outages. 

One megawatt is roughly enough electricity to power 500 average homes under normal conditions in Texas, or about 200 homes during hot weather when air conditioners are running for longer periods of time. 

The new peak is an integrated hourly average of electricity load between 4 and 5 p.m. based on preliminary calculations.  It is not final until completion of the market’s financial settlement process six months after the operating day. 

RESOURCES

Consumer Hotline

Public Utility Commission, 1-888-782-8477

Conservation Tips

“Powerful Advice,” Public Utility Commission of Texas: www.puc.state.tx.us./ocp/conserve

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) manages the flow of electric power to 22 million Texas customers - representing 85 percent of the state's electric load and 75 percent of the Texas land area. As the independent system operator for the region, ERCOT schedules power on an electric grid that connects 40,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 550 generation units. ERCOT also manages financial settlement for the competitive wholesale bulk-power market and administers customer switching for 6.5 million Texans in competitive choice areas. ERCOT is a membership-based 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation, governed by a board of directors and subject to oversight by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature. ERCOT's members include consumers, cooperatives, independent generators, independent power marketers, retail electric providers, investor-owned electric utilities (transmission and distribution providers), and municipal-owned electric utilities.

Contact
Dottie Roark	512-225-7024

Source: Houston Chronicle, August 4, 2010 | http://blogs.chron.com/newswatchenergy

August 04, 2010

More proof it's hot: Texas power use sets record

Texas set a new record for electricity usage this afternoon, with peak demand hitting 63,594 megawatts between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to the state's main grid operator.

The previous record of 63,400 MW was recorded on July 13, 2009, according to Electric Reliability Council of Texas.

The new unofficial peak (it's not official until all power purchase contracts are finalized some six months from now) was also set during a 24-hour test of ERCOT's new control systems for the nodal market, which is scheduled to launch Dec. 1. The nodal market is designed to help better manage the ebbs and flows of power demand in the state by essentially turning every power plant into a point of control. Previously the state was split into a handful of zones that would balance power loads among themselves.

"ERCOT system operators and the region's transmission and generation owners operated smoothly through the nodal test and the new record demand without any major issues," said ERCOT CEO Trip Doggett in a statement. "We are extremely pleased that the new nodal systems performed as expected. This bodes well for the go-live operation of all nodal systems Dec.1."

ERCOT says the grid had the power generation capacity to cover the expected summer peak demand of over 64,000 MW and still maintain a 21 percent reserve cushion to cover unexpected power plant outages.

One megawatt is roughly enough electricity to power 500 average homes under normal conditions in Texas, or about 200 homes during hot weather when air conditioners are running for longer periods of time, according to ERCOT.

Posted by Tom Fowler at August 4, 2010 05:44 PM

handbook view

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY.

The Texas Department of Public Safety was established by the Texas legislature on August 10, 1935, to enforce laws to protect public safety and to provide for crime prevention and detection. A three-member Public Safety Commission, appointed by the governor for six-year terms, oversaw the department and in turn named the director and assistant director. Originally department operations were classified into six divisions: the Texas Highway Patrol, Texas Rangers^qv, Bureau of Communications, Bureau of Intelligence, Bureau of Education, and Bureau of Identification and Records. In 1937 the state licensing of drivers was added to the tasks of the department, as was the first narcotics section. The driver-license section expanded in 1941 with the addition of an accident-record section, later evolving into the Statistical Division (1946). By the early 1950s still more driver-related duties were added, with the enactments of the Motor Vehicle Inspection Act and the Safety Responsibility Act. In 1957 the Department of Public Safety underwent a major reorganization, which included consolidation into four major divisions: Identification and Criminal Records, Personnel and Staff Services, Driver and Vehicle Records, and Inspection and Planning. In 1963 the department also became responsible for the State Civil Defense Office (later the Division of Emergency Management), established to aid local governments during times of natural disaster or social upheaval. Through the years the Department of Public Safety continued to reorganize and expand its operations, forming the Criminal Law and the Traffic Law Enforcement divisions in 1968 and the administrative division in 1973, and adding an internal-affairs unit in 1978 and an automated fingerprint-identification system in 1989.

In 1992 the Department of Public Safety consisted of the director's staff and three major divisions: Criminal Law Enforcement, Traffic Law Enforcement, and Administration. The director's staff consisted of a director and an assistant director, an aircraft section, the Internal Audit and Internal Affairs units, and various personnel providing budgetary, publicity, and legal services. In 1991 the Texas Rangers also became part of the director's staff. The Criminal Law Enforcement Division oversaw criminal investigations into such activities as drug trafficking, organized crime, and motor vehicle theft through the efforts of its three services: the Narcotics Service, Criminal Intelligence Service, and Motor Vehicle Theft Service. The Traffic Law Enforcement Division dealt with state traffic laws largely through the highway patrol, but also included among its duties overseeing driver-license matters, vehicle inspection, and public-safety education. The Administrative Division handled statewide communications and driver records, criminal records, and all related data-processing. In the early 1990s the department employed some 5,830 workers in a variety of law-enforcement, technical, and administrative positions. The department is funded by the Texas legislature and had a 1992–93 budget of $212.4 million.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Fifty Years for Texas: 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Department of Public Safety (Austin: Texas Department of Public Safety, 1985). Vertical Files, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin.

Laurie E. Jasinski

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/mctrp.html (accessed August 4, 2010).

(NOTE: "s.v." stands for sub verbo, "under the word.")

The Handbook of Texas Online is a project of the Texas State Historical Association (http://www.tshaonline.org).

Copyright ©, The Texas State Historical Association, 1997-2002
Last Updated: May 30, 2010 

Official Texas DPS Diamond Jubilee page is http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/DiamondJubilee/index.htm