Texas power shortages shut down Samsung chip fabs

The Lone Star State is currently experiencing surprisingly cold weather. Over the past week, Texas has seen freezing temperatures, icy roads, and in some cases even snow. This unusually cold weather has driven up demand for power in Texas, overloading the state’s electric grid. Currently, millions of people across Texas are without power. Now, you may be wondering why you’re seeing news about weather in Texas on a PC gaming site. As it turns out, Samsung has a massive chip fabrication facility in Austin, Texas. Due to power constraints, this location has been ordered to shut down.

According to a report from the Austin-American Statesman, Samsung isn’t the only company that’s been shut down. The Coalition for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy confirmed that Samsung, NXP Semiconductors, and Infineon Semiconductors have all been fully shut down. Shutting down mid-operation could potentially cost these companies millions of dollars, according to the Statesman. These costs are due to a lack of production as well as parts being ruined due to a halt in manufacturing. So far it’s not clear when Samsung’s chip fabs will be able to resume operation. Power issues in Texas will likely persist through the week, so factories may be dark until next Monday.

It’s not clear how or if this stoppage will affect Samsung’s supply of PC hardware. Samsung hasn’t revealed what its facilities in Austin, Texas produce. However, some likely contenders are DRAM, NAND, and mobile SoC’s. The first of these two are extremely important components in PC hardware, and shortages could lead to higher prices in the near future.

Samsung’s investments in Texas

This isn’t Samsung’s first time making headlines in Texas. Earlier this month, the Statesman reported that the company was seeking $1 billion USD in subsidized taxes for another facility in Austin. If a deal is struck, this new facility would manufacture next-generation chips, specifically semiconductors.

Credit: Samsung

According to state documents filed by Samsung, the proposed value of the facility is $17 billion USD and it could create at least 1,800 jobs. Besides manufacturing semiconductors, it would also produce advanced logic devices and semiconductor wafers.