Why Texas’ mass power outages continue to happen

It’s become a familiar cycle: A powerful storm sweeps through a swath of Texas and takes the electric system down in its grip. Trees might bend and topple, crashing down onto a power pole. Sometimes the weight of ice pulls branches onto electric lines. Other times wind makes a wire spark, and that ember ignites a destructive blaze.

Thousands of Texans then sit in the dark for days — in either the blistering heat or frigid cold — waiting for utility crews to survey and fix the damage so electricity can start flowing again.