Texas [US], February 19 (ANI/Sputnik): Texas Governor Greg Abbott told reporters that he requested the state legislature to investigate the energy collapse amid the snow storm and approve reforms to preclude such development from occurring again.

The largest oil and gas producer in the United States faces severe blackouts affecting millions of households amid very low temperatures that caught local utility companies off-guard.

"We have already begun the process to make sure that events like this never again happen in Texas. And that starts with reforming the agency in charge of electric reliability in Texas, which is ERCOT. What happened this week to our fellow Texans is absolutely unacceptable and can never be replicated again," Abbott said during a press conference on Thursday.

The governor added that he issued an executive order asking the Texas legislature to investigate what happened at ERCOT that "led up to and during the course of the response to this winter storm."

"Today, I am adding more emergency items to the legislative session. First, I am asking the legislature to mandate the winterization of generators and the power system. Second, I am calling for the funding needed to ensure that this winterization and modernization occurs," Abbott said.

According to the latest data, Texas has no power generation shortfalls but some 325,000 state residents still stay without electricity due to obstructed connections to the grid.

The winter storm has also caused drinking water shortages across Texas with 725 water systems under "boil notice" affecting 13 million residents. (ANI/Sputnik)

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