Power Outages Along Highway 75 Spotlight Texas Tech Study on Home Values

3: 42 p. m. ET — Thousands were left without power Saturday as ice brought power outages along Highway 75, a disruption that local outage maps and utility updates tracked through the afternoon. Texas Tech University researchers’ new findings on outages and housing values make the timing especially notable for homeowners and policymakers.

Highway 75 ice storm left thousands offline, local outage maps showed

Ice accumulation along Highway 75 produced widespread interruptions Saturday, leaving thousands without electric service, local reports show. Utilities posted multiple updates throughout the day identifying affected areas and assigning crews to repairs, and some maps continued to show isolated outages in nearby communities later in the afternoon.

Power Outages and home prices: Texas Tech finds a large economic hit

Researchers at Texas Tech University, led by Bradley Ewing and Zachary Keeler of the Jerry S. Rawls College of Business, investigated how power interruptions affect regional economic growth and housing prices in a study published on Texas Tech Now. They found that counties with shorter and fewer outages tended to have better employment growth and stronger local business performance, while operating interruptions negatively affected housing prices.

The study quantified the loss: increasing the average number of minutes customers experience during an outage by one standard deviation would cause more than $113 billion in lost home values. The researchers said their findings can benefit residents and policymakers; Keeler noted that if power reliability’s impact on housing prices is known, policymakers can consider it when making decisions and homebuyers can factor reliability into purchase decisions.

In addition to the housing-value estimate, the Texas Tech work linked reliability to local employment gains, suggesting power performance has both short-term and long-term economic consequences for counties.

In February 2021, millions of Texans were left without power during a winter freeze; that statewide failure of the grid led to more than 200 deaths, underscoring the human and economic stakes tied to extended interruptions.

ATCO outage reports show small, scattered interruptions as crews work

Separately, utility outage tracking showed smaller-scale interruptions in multiple communities where crews were assigned to repairs. Updates flagged outages in areas such as Bear Canyon, Cleardale, Homestead, Erin Lodge, Swanavon, Grovedale, Nampa and near Fairview. One update noted a Bear Canyon outage affecting fewer than 10 customers while work continued on outages in Cleardale and Homestead.

ATCO’s outage map updates did not list exact customer counts or restoration times for each interruption, but confirmed crews were actively addressing the faults and making repairs through the afternoon and evening updates.

That mix of a concentrated, weather-driven outage along a major route and multiple localized interruptions illustrates how both systemic failures and routine faults can disrupt households and local economies.

Battery storage and partial home backup options have been cited as ways for homeowners to protect key appliances and reduce the immediate impact of outages. The Texas Tech researchers and others note that backup options can help residents manage outages while utilities restore grid service.

More details expected 3: 42 p. m. ET.