How Ford Is Helping Out Texas

Ford Motor Co. F has asked its dealers in Texas to loan inventories of F-150s to residents and business owners who are still without electricity as a result of the extreme winter weather that paralyzed the state’s power grid.

What Happened: The automaker has also increased the loaner fee paid to its Texas dealers by $600 to encourage the loan-outs, adding the trucks will still be considered eligible for sale during next month’s truck promotion.

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Ford’s request, which was first reported in Automotive News, came in a letter to dealers from Tim Witt, general manager of marketing, sales and service for its Central Market Area. Witt noted there were more than 400 F-150s in stock in Texas and explained that either the new 2021 F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid or F-150s equipped with the ProPower Onboard could generate power for households still in the dark.

Ford CEO Jim Farley shared a photo on Twitter of a Texas home that was being powered by an F-150 truck.

“The situation in the SW US is so difficult,” he tweeted. “Wish everyone in Texas had a new F150 with PowerBoost onboard generator....”

What Happens Next: As of 9:30 a.m. EST Friday, approximately 187,000 were still without electrical power, down from a peak of roughly 4 million, while 12 million households were under notices from the state to boil water.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a statement that emergency conditions were expected to end Friday. 

"There is enough generation on the electric system to allow us to begin to return to more normal operating conditions," said Senior Director of System Operations Dan Woodfin.

However, ERCOT added that approximately 34,000 MW of generation remained on forced outage, with 20,000 MW consisting of thermal generation and the rest generated from wind and solar sources.

The Ford F-150. Photo courtesy Ford Motor Co.