Texas mayor says government and utility services owe residents ‘nothing’ as tens of thousands left without power and water

[Paratus]

I’ll repeat it here. ERCOT stated yesterday day 16GW of wind generation was down and 30GW of thermal generation (natural gas, coal, & nuclear) was down due to freezing temperatures.

ERCOT has 82GW of total generation. So 44% was knocked out by the cold during a time when demand would be extremely high.

This appears to be a lack of preparation on the part of the power generators and a lack of regulation to force preparation.

 

[pmv]

Actually the real problem is Texas power providers of all types didn't invest in protecting their infrastructure from cold weather. Wind generation still provided a greater than typically expected share of output while gas, nuclear, and coal all had issues with water for cooling freezing shutting down the plants.

Surely, to be fair, it's the same problem we have with bad winters here - if you very rarely get them, there's scope for argument as to whether it's worth spending on expensive infrastructure items to be ready to cope with them when they do happen. It's a much simpler choice for places that always have bad winters.

 

[HomerJS]

Surely, to be fair, it's the same problem we have with bad winters here - if you very rarely get them, there's scope for argument as to whether it's worth spending on expensive infrastructure items to be ready to cope with them when they do happen. It's a much simpler choice for places that always have bad winters.

Remaining on the nation grid would have alleviated this problem. But they wanted their freedumbs

 

[soulcougher73]

He nails it as always.

 

[MrSquished]

Surely, to be fair, it's the same problem we have with bad winters here - if you very rarely get them, there's scope for argument as to whether it's worth spending on expensive infrastructure items to be ready to cope with them when they do happen. It's a much simpler choice for places that always have bad winters.

Texas had rolling blackouts due to cold weather in 2011 and 2014 - nothing nearly as bad as this but the Feds did a study and advised them these events would be more common in the SouthWest and to better prepare their infrastructure. They chose pure profits and their Texan Fuck Government line and so here we are.

 

[brycejones]

Texas had rolling blackouts due to cold weather in 2011 and 2014 - nothing nearly as bad as this but the Feds did a study and advised them these events would be more common in the SouthWest and to better prepare their infrastructure. They chose pure profits and their Texan Fuck Government line and so here we are.

Thanks Obama!

 

[dawp]

Texas had rolling blackouts due to cold weather in 2011 and 2014 - nothing nearly as bad as this but the Feds did a study and advised them these events would be more common in the SouthWest and to better prepare their infrastructure. They chose pure profits and their Texan Fuck Government line and so here we are.

I lived in texas when they started to deregulate their power system in the late 90s and early 2000s (moved out in 07). it was sold that it would lower prices and nothing of the sort happened, the prices went up and up.

 

[pete6032]

I've seen that reported in several places. Not that the windmills freezing were the cause of the blackouts, but that they have frozen and the reduced output contributed to the blackouts. It didn't seem like an unreasonable conclusion.

It's not an unreasonable conclusion, but the problem is that many articles on conservative leaning news websites are only reporting about frozen windmills, and not about the extensive problems that fossil fuel sources are experiencing as well. This incomplete reporting is leading people to believe that windmills are to blame when the picture is much more complex than this. I can almost guarantee the next time I talk to someone who gets their news primarily from FOX they will blame renewable energy for the catastrophe in Texas.

 

[gus6464]

I heard on NPR that the grid issues are exponentially magnified because Texas in their infinite wisdom decided that they wanted an isolated grid from the rest of the country so they can't get surplus power from the neighboring states like pretty much every other state.

 

[dawp]

I heard on NPR that the grid issues are exponentially magnified because Texas in their infinite wisdom decided that they wanted an isolated grid from the rest of the country so they can't get surplus power from the neighboring states like pretty much every other state.

they did it so the feds would get out of their business with regulations and this is what it gets them.

 

[Meghan54]

Texas had rolling blackouts due to cold weather in 2011 and 2014 - nothing nearly as bad as this but the Feds did a study and advised them these events would be more common in the SouthWest and to better prepare their infrastructure. They chose pure profits and their Texan Fuck Government line and so here we are.

Here's a recent article about just that:

Texas grid fails to weatherize, repeats mistake feds cited 10 years ago

A 2011 report recommended installing heating elements around pipes and increasing the...

www.houstonchronicle.com

 

[hal2kilo]

I lived in texas when they started to deregulate their power system in the late 90s and early 2000s (moved out in 07). it was sold that it would lower prices and nothing of the sort happened, the prices went up and up.

Sadly, I remember being hoodwinked and voted for the same thing when I lived in CA. Enron had a lot of fun with the state after that. Yea, you can blame me.

 

[MtnMan]

Texas keeps saying the want to secede from the union. Created a separate power grid to evade federal controls and lower prices. Wonder how that is working out for them.

But since they want to secede, can the other 49 states evict them? We will still have Florida and "Florida man" to be our crazy uncle Earl.

 

[Indus]

Trumpanzees are not human!

Humans have empathy.

 

[nakedfrog]

I lived in texas when they started to deregulate their power system in the late 90s and early 2000s (moved out in 07). it was sold that it would lower prices and nothing of the sort happened, the prices went up and up.

Gosh, I'm so utterly shocked at this turn of events.

 

[Moonbeam]

What we know is that this was how this mayor was treated as a child. The way to lose your self and win our approval is to never give a shit about anybody or ask for anything. If you do you are a worthless shit. And like his parents he will feel no empathy for anybody except contempt if they ask. Never be human if you want to feel like a REAL MAN.

Of course, when he was asked for help by the people who put their trust in his care, he felt rage because of guilt. They showed to him his real face and it filled him with self contempt. He resigned rather than face his inner pain and learn to care again.

 

[Aikouka]

its not. its a contributing factor. so is low pressure in NG pipelines because of the widespread cold across the west and mid-west. even in CO we are seeing lower pressures and utilities are asking for conservation. some generating capacity is also offline for maintenance and upgrades, which they do this time of year to have full capacity during the summer, their normal peak. its also an issue of peoples preparedness. I have a friend down there that waits till his propane tank is at 10% to get it filled. if you know anything about propane, you know that when the tank is low and its cold, you cant produce enough vapor to run you systems, the bottom 10 or 15 % is nearly useless as is the top 10 or 15%. not enough surface area of the liquid for evaporation to occur at a high enough rate to produce the gas you need. then you plug in all the electric heaters you have. a bunch do this is overload the grid.

lots of contributing factors to this. Anyone with any failures experience knows that a major problem is almost never from one or even a few single causes.

Do homes in Texas tend to have a higher percentage of heat pumps for HVAC systems? I could imagine their poor efficiency in sub-freezing temperatures would cause a heavier strain on the grid. If you exacerbate that with sub-10-degree weather, that's even worse.

 

[herm0016]

Do homes in Texas tend to have a higher percentage of heat pumps for HVAC systems? I could imagine their poor efficiency in sub-freezing temperatures would cause a heavier strain on the grid. If you exacerbate that with sub-10-degree weather, that's even worse.

there are more heat pumps, but most modern heat pumps are still quite efficient down to 0 or less. I know mine work to -20 degrees F with no issue.

 

[Mai72]

He's a pick you up by your bootstraps kinda fella?

It's -35? Pick yo up by your boot straps youngin. I walked thru 100ft of snow when i was your age. This is what he'd probably say.

 

[dawp]

He's a pick you up by your bootstraps kinda fella?

It's -35? Pick yo up by your boot straps youngin. I walked thru 100ft of snow when i was your age. This is what he'd probably say.

uphill in both directions

 

[Aikouka]

there are more heat pumps, but most modern heat pumps are still quite efficient down to 0 or less. I know mine work to -20 degrees F with no issue.

Is that because they have electric-based heating elements to make up for the frigid air? I wasn't sure if the higher draw from a resistive heating element would make things worse.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I've seen that reported in several places. Not that the windmills freezing were the cause of the blackouts, but that they have frozen and the reduced output contributed to the blackouts. It didn't seem like an unreasonable conclusion.

bull shite

 

[BUTCH1]

Is that because they have electric-based heating elements to make up for the frigid air? I wasn't sure if the higher draw from a resistive heating element would make things worse.

I think that's correct, most heat pumps need a resistive element as a backup if temp's fall really low, this is why in really cold areas a heat pump is not considered a primary heating method unless it has a heat strip as a backup. When it's below 30 degrees or so a heat pump has to work very hard because there is not a lot of heat to extract from the air so efficiency plummets. In the TX situation when a home has been blacked out for greater than 24hrs when power is restored the house draws a shitload of power since the heating system and electric water heater come back alive, this makes it difficult to re-start blackened areas. Once here in FL a wicked cold snap caused rolling blackouts and to power Co saying "everyone lower your thermostats" but since many expected to lose power in a short time anyway they did the opposite and tried to extract all the heat they could when they had the chance.

 

[shortylickens]

I’m sad that he resigned. It’s a rare thing when you find an elected Republican who’s willing to tell the truth about what he thinks of his fellow citizens. That “unhinged rant” is what people who vote Republican are voting for.

Exhibit B: 74 million people voted for a President who didn’t do a damn thing to show the spread of Covid. “The strong will survive and the weak will perish” is a slightly more eloquent way of stating “Fuck you, got mine!”

fuck you got mine is their unofficial slogan.

it pairs nicely with their official slogan "America First".

 

[fskimospy]

Yes I’m sure the power generation problems are due to Democrats because after all they did most recently won the governorship in 1990 and really they were just sowing the seeds for today’s disaster.