The lights and heat in my house are on tonight. I long took these services for granted. When Winter Sorm Uri struck, I learned that I can’t count on the infrastructure to keep me safe. This week, during an ice storm that left 171,000 Austin households without power, that lesson was reenforced.

How can we protect ourselves? We can’t tame Mother Nature, but we can take action. The Inflation Reduction Act provides incentives to make our homes, businesses and appliances more energy efficient. When more of our homes and businesses use less energy, our homes will be a smaller drain on the grid and our energy will go further. As Texans always have, we can be good neighbors in crisis, but we can do more. We can reduce the impact of severe weather by taking advantage of the IRA and weatherizing our homes and businesses.

Victoria Hendricks

Member, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Austin Chapter

Submitted to the Austin American-Statesman

February 2023