Franchise Opportunities in El Paso, TX

Editor's Note: El Paso's electric grid is separate from Texas and would not be impacted.

After six power plants went down unexpectedly Friday — and with hot weather expected across Texas this weekend — the Electric Reliability Council of Texas on Friday evening is asking consumers to conserve electricity through Sunday.

Texans are asked to set their thermostats to 78 degrees or above between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. this weekend and to avoid using large appliances at home during those same times.

A spokesperson for ERCOT, which operates the state’s main power grid, told The Texas Tribune he does not expect there to be electricity blackouts this weekend.

ERCOT did not say why the plants unexpectedly tripped offline. All reserve power was operating to support the grid, the agency said.

The power plant failures led to a loss of about 2,900 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power more than 580,000 homes.

Power grids must keep supply and demand in balance at all times. When Texas’ grid falls below its safety margin of excess supply, the grid operator starts taking additional precautions to avoid blackouts. The first precaution is to ask the public to cut back electricity usage.

April and May are referred to as “shoulder months” in the energy world. That’s the time of year when power plants go offline in order to conduct necessary maintenance and other repairs before the hot summer months.

ERCOT, however, has recently told multiple power generation companies to delay maintenance on their equipment so the grid could keep up with the hotter-than-usual temperatures recently, which in turn leads to elevated demand for power when Texans crank their air conditioners.

Friday’s power plant outages were unrelated to the recent maintenance delays, an ERCOT spokesperson said.

While it’s not uncommon for power grid operators to ask consumers to cut back on electricity use as a precautionary measure, many Texans vividly remember February 2021, when millions of people were without power for days in subfreezing temperatures after a combination of cold weather across the state and skyrocketing demand for energy shut down power plants as well as the natural gas facilities that supply them with fuel. Hundreds of people died.

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This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/13/texas-power-conservation-heat/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

About 100 immigrants claiming asylum were released into downtown El Paso, Texas Sunday as federal facilities and non-profit migrant shelters alike reach capacity in the border city, according to the El Paso Times.

The migrants were released before dawn, and some quickly made plans to travel on to other cities, while others lingered on the streets of El Paso or at the airport — too broke to leave or book a hotel.

These immigrants have cleared the initial steps in their asylum case and are authorized to be in the US until a judge makes a ruling, which can often take years. When they are released by federal authorities, the migrants give Immigration and Customs Enforcement an address where they can be found, are often tracked by ICE and must check in as they move through the legal process.

Sunday’s release is the first time immigrants have been sent into the streets of the West Texas city since 2019, during a separate surge of immigrants at the border.

The number of immigrants arriving at the US-Mexico border is currently climbing ahead of the anticipated lifting of Title 42, a health policy that has been used by immigration officials to keep an estimated 1.7 million immigrants out of the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Biden Administration currently plans to end Title 42 on May 23. However, Texas and other states are suing to block the lifting of the policy. The states are asking the courts to keep Title 42 in place, arguing that they are not equipped to handle the possible 18,000 immigrants a day that could come to the border once Title 42 is removed.

The federal judge hearing the case has said he will make a final ruling before May 23 and hinted he is likely to keep Title 42 in place.

Meanwhile, the El Paso Times reports that Border Patrol resources in the city are maxed out, with agents detaining more than 1,000 immigrants a day despite only have enough room to house 1,700 people.

The same goes for Annunciation House, the shelter where asylum seekers often stay in El Paso before moving on to their final destination, which says its ability to respond to the surge of migrants has reached its limit.

“Our capacity is slowly — and I would underline the word slowly — increasing,” Annunciation House Executive Director Ruben Garcia told the paper. “But it’s been very, very challenging because of the issue of the volunteers.”

City Manager Tommy Gonzalez is staying in El Paso.

After the El Paso City Council voted Monday to extend Gonzalez's contract in an effort to keep him from leaving, Gonzalez withdrew his name from the applicant pool for the same position in Frisco, Texas.

“I am overwhelmed with the support I have received from the community, our employees, and the City Council. With this in mind, I have removed myself from the city manager search in Frisco, Texas,” Gonzalez said in a city news release Monday. “I’m committed to El Paso. We’re not finished here.”

Gonzalez's contract was amended after council members were in executive session for more than four hours.

On a 5-3 vote, city representatives extended Gonzalez's contract with the city until June 24, 2029, and instilled a salary cap of $450,000 a year. The amendment also will guarantee that the city will pay its contribution portion to Gonzalez's pension plan.

The salary cap may be raised if the average base salaries for the three highest comparison cities outlined in the agreement raise their city manager pay over $450,000.

City Reps. Claudia Rodriguez, Alexsandra Annello and Joe Molinar voted against the amendment, while Peter Svarzbein, Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido, Henry Rivera and Cissy Lizarraga voted for it.

Another agenda item to review the annual performance evaluation for Gonzalez and City Attorney Karla Nieman was left untouched as the council took no action on it.

The executive session meeting Monday comes days after Frisco, Texas, announced Gonzalez was a finalist for the same position in that city.

Annello said before the vote to amend the contract that while she thinks Gonzalez is doing a good job for the city, she couldn't support the amendment.

"I think Mr. Gonzalez is doing a fantastic job, but there are things in this contract that do not protect the citizens of El Paso and council did not want to take those up today," Annello said. "They only wanted to discuss things that were determined between one city representative and Mr. Gonzalez in private, and I don't think that's appropriate."

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Gonzalez's contract includes a $230 biweekly "automobile allowance," among other benefits, and a hefty severance package.

The conditions of the severance package state that in the instance of resignation, nonrenewal of agreement or termination by the city without good cause, Gonzalez would be paid, in one lump sum, a year's worth of current base salary, plus benefits.

The city agrees to pay out, in addition to the year's salary, all granted and accrued but unused vacation and sick leave, as well as his automobile allowance to the date of termination of the agreement.

Gonzalez was appointed as El Paso's city manager in June 2014, and the city renewed his contract in 2018. His contract was set to expire in 2024. Gonzalez began his career in El Paso with a salary of almost $239,000. His salary is now $404,377.

Frisco is about 28 miles north of Dallas.

EL PASO, Texas (KFOX 14) — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conducted an urban heat island mapping campaign that included El Paso.

The borderland was one of 13 U.S. cities chosen for this community science heat mapping project.

The study showed that parts of El Paso were warmer than other areas in the city.

Luke Rogers is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service and explained why the study is relevant until this day.

"Warmer and hotter places were along the I-10 and corridor, through downtown, East side and up on the West side El Paso," Rogers said.

That’s because in those area there are more commercialized buildings and pavements, compared to smaller locations in the area where there is more vegetation.

"When you have more vegetation, obviously you have the shade, and also the vegetation, with roots down on the ground, whatever moisture is in the ground, the roots get that moisture and release it as water vapor," Rogers said.

Rogers explained that there is a teleconnection known as “El Niño” — where the weather is usually wetter and cooler, but El Paso has been in “La Niña “ phase over the past two years — which means drier and warmer than normal temperatures, according to Rogers.

"It’s a safe bet to say that we’ll see slightly above temperatures heading into the summer time," Rogers said.

On a day like today where El Paso was near triple digits, an air quality alert was released due to the wild fires near the region bringing in smoke and the high temperatures.

"Air quality can impact the residents and people within that area," Rogers said.

Weather experts say this summer will be a hot one and provided recommendations for El Pasoans.

"People being aware, staying hydrated, being out of the sun during peak heating and peak sun during the day," Rogers said.

Results from the El Paso UHI Mapping Campaign can be viewed here.

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EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14) — As the nationwide baby formula shortage persists, many parents are looking for alternative ways to feed their infants

Some posts on social media recommend diluting formula with water, making homemade formulas and even sharing breast milk. But, these methods could actually put children at risk.

“When people are using these homemade formula recipes that they're seeing on social media and google, [they] can cause electrolyte imbalance,” said El Paso Pediatrician Dr. Lindsey Herrera, who works at El Paso Pediatric Associates on Belvidere Street.

Herrera said some serious infections can be passed on in breast milk and that if you don’t know the person's medical record you should avoid getting breast milk from a stranger.

"Please do not find like random people that you don’t know and give their breast milk to your baby because you don’t know them and it’s just not a safe option,” said Herrera.

She also advises against watering down formula to make it last longer.

"Babies' kidneys are very immature so they can’t handle different concentrations of the formula that that’s gonna cause when you water it down,” said Herrera.

One thing she does suggest is reaching out to your pediatrician for help.

Many will have stockpiles of formula samples just like the one at her practice.

"When the recall first happened, we had a ton of messages and people calling to ask what they should do," said Herrera.

If you do find formula at the store, Herrera also asks that parents don't buy it all up at once.

“But please don’t ya know buy up all the formula there because some other mom is coming in behind you looking for formula to feed her baby,” said Herrera.

As long as your baby doesn’t have any pre-existing conditions which requires them to have a special formula, parents are able to switch their children to a different formula if they cannot find the one they need, Herrera added.

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