absent
Veteran XX
Not only was it all preventable, Texas Republicans during the power grid failures focused on:
Texas regulations to require the national anthem at sports games: Dan Patrick introduces after Mavericks stopped playing national anthem | The Texas Tribune
Fake news trying to blame renewable energy: Photo does not show a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine in Texas
Conservative "influencers" on the right using their propaganda accounts to "push the narrative": Day before 4.2 million Texans were without power for 18+ hours due to Texas own electric grid running out of power. : agedlikemilk
Texas is asking for federal help again, like with all the federal aid Texas takes that Texas votes against for other states:
"Here's the vote for Hurricane Sandy aid. 179 of the 180 no votes were Republicans... at least 20 Texas Republicans." voted no while "U.S. House approves billions more for Harvey relief"
Texas has the most number of Republicans who voted against a bill to honor Capitol Police during the Jan 6 Riot...
Texas' state leaders and representatives making fun of other states: Day before 4.2 million Texans were without power for 18+ hours due to Texas own electric grid running out of power. : agedlikemilk
"the South receives subsidies from California dwarfing complaints in the EU (the subsidy and economic difference between California and Mississippi is larger than between Germany and Greece!), a transfer of wealth from blue states/cities/urban to red states/rural/suburban with federal dollars for their freeways, hospitals, universities, airports, even environmental protection"
With higher taxes in Texas than California (Texas makes up for state income tax with double property tax and other taxes and fees):
Bold is the winner (meaning lowest tax rate)
Income Bracket Texas Tax Rate California Tax Rate
0-20% 13% 10.5%
20-40% 10.9% 9.4%
40-60% 9.7% 8.3%
60-80% 8.6% 9.0%
80-95% 7.4% 9.4%
95-99% 5.4% 9.9%
99-100% 3.1% 12.4%
Source: Who Pays? 6th Edition ITEP
u/Juzoltami explains how the effective tax rate for the bottom 80% of people is higher in Texas than California. : bestof
Texas electrical grid failure is just another version of South Dakota's abnormally high CV-19 rate or Kansas budget crisis
A bumper sticker political ideology's false promises made self-evident, failing a real world test for all to see.
Federal agency FERC tried helping Texas multiple times, including in 2011 when they spelled out how and what to winterize at power plants:
u/Sir_Francis_Burton finds the FERC report the last time this state power outage happened in Texas : bestof
The Texas Interconnected System — which for a long time was actually operated by two discrete entities, one for northern Texas and one for southern Texas — had another priority: staying out of the reach of federal regulators.
"Freedom from federal regulation was a cherished goal — more so because Texas had no regulation until the 1970s," writes Richard D. Cudahy in a 1995 article, "The Second Battle of the Alamo: The Midnight Connection."
Why does Texas have its own power grid? | The Texas Tribune
It's confirmed: Frozen wind turbines were the least significant factor.
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Federal FERC report after 2011 Texas power outages (whose recommendations weren't followed):
The lack of any state, regional or Reliability Standards that directly require generators to perform winterization left winter-readiness dependent on plant or corporate choices. Generators were generally reactive as opposed to being proactive in their approach to winterization and preparedness. The single largest problem during the cold weather event was the freezing of instrumentation and equipment. Many generators failed to adequately prepare for winter, including the following: failed or inadequate heat traces, missing or inadequate wind breaks, inadequate insulation and lagging (metal covering for insulation), failure to have or to maintain heating elements and heat lamps in instrument cabinets, failure to train operators and maintenance personnel on winter preparations, lack of fuel switching training and drills, and failure to ensure adequate fuel.
From r/Texas users:
Only way to get the national guard to Texas is to have a BLM rally. Governor of the state has to request national guard
Pretty Sure the total cost of damage to personal property (burst pipes, fires) will far outweigh the cost skipped in 2011 to winterize power generation.
I was born in illinois and travel back and forth between dallas and chicago. Snow is waist high right now. The piles I shoveled from the driveway are 6 feet tall. And... no one cares. Illinois is prepared for this stuff, TX is not, but it should be. Should every citizen own snowpants and a snowblower? No. Should the powerplants stay on. yes, wtf.
Yeah, look at the ERCOT capacity graphs - the problems isn't the load (load is actually higher in summer when everyone is blasting their AC), it's that all these generators went offline because they were freezing up.
Why did they freeze up? Because the PUC of TX's policy is to not pay for capacity. Why? Because doing so would violate some sort of free-market dogma promoted by the TX Public Policy Foundation (https://files.texaspolicy.com/uploads/2018/08/16095417/2013-01-RR02-ResourceAdequacyElectricityMarkets-CEF-RMichaelsAKleit.pdf), which has held sway over the governor and a big hand in selecting the PUC commissioners.
More sources:
Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
You Could Get Prison Time for Protesting a Pipeline in Texas—Even If It’s on Your Land
Fossil Fuel Exec Brags of 'Hitting the Jackpot' as Natural Gas Prices Surge Amid Deadly Crisis in Texas
Leaked Audio Shows Oil Lobbyist Bragging About Success in Criminalizing Pipeline Protests
Abbott Appointees Gutted Enforcement of Texas Power Grid Rules
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Blames Constituents for Giant Electric Bills: “Read the Fine Print”
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry says that Texans find massive power outages preferable to having more federal government interference in the state's energy grid.
Winter storm could cost Texas more money than any disaster in state history
Why on earth would right-wing people with connections to the fossil fuel industry lie about ‘frozen wind turbines’ in Texas?
"Texas shows that when you cannot govern, you lie. A lot."
A Texas-size failure, followed by a familiar Texas response: Blame California
Texas regulations to require the national anthem at sports games: Dan Patrick introduces after Mavericks stopped playing national anthem | The Texas Tribune
Fake news trying to blame renewable energy: Photo does not show a helicopter de-icing a wind turbine in Texas
Conservative "influencers" on the right using their propaganda accounts to "push the narrative": Day before 4.2 million Texans were without power for 18+ hours due to Texas own electric grid running out of power. : agedlikemilk
Texas is asking for federal help again, like with all the federal aid Texas takes that Texas votes against for other states:
"Here's the vote for Hurricane Sandy aid. 179 of the 180 no votes were Republicans... at least 20 Texas Republicans." voted no while "U.S. House approves billions more for Harvey relief"
Texas has the most number of Republicans who voted against a bill to honor Capitol Police during the Jan 6 Riot...
Texas' state leaders and representatives making fun of other states: Day before 4.2 million Texans were without power for 18+ hours due to Texas own electric grid running out of power. : agedlikemilk
"the South receives subsidies from California dwarfing complaints in the EU (the subsidy and economic difference between California and Mississippi is larger than between Germany and Greece!), a transfer of wealth from blue states/cities/urban to red states/rural/suburban with federal dollars for their freeways, hospitals, universities, airports, even environmental protection"
With higher taxes in Texas than California (Texas makes up for state income tax with double property tax and other taxes and fees):
Bold is the winner (meaning lowest tax rate)
Income Bracket Texas Tax Rate California Tax Rate
0-20% 13% 10.5%
20-40% 10.9% 9.4%
40-60% 9.7% 8.3%
60-80% 8.6% 9.0%
80-95% 7.4% 9.4%
95-99% 5.4% 9.9%
99-100% 3.1% 12.4%
Source: Who Pays? 6th Edition ITEP
u/Juzoltami explains how the effective tax rate for the bottom 80% of people is higher in Texas than California. : bestof
Texas electrical grid failure is just another version of South Dakota's abnormally high CV-19 rate or Kansas budget crisis
A bumper sticker political ideology's false promises made self-evident, failing a real world test for all to see.
Federal agency FERC tried helping Texas multiple times, including in 2011 when they spelled out how and what to winterize at power plants:
u/Sir_Francis_Burton finds the FERC report the last time this state power outage happened in Texas : bestof
The Texas Interconnected System — which for a long time was actually operated by two discrete entities, one for northern Texas and one for southern Texas — had another priority: staying out of the reach of federal regulators.
"Freedom from federal regulation was a cherished goal — more so because Texas had no regulation until the 1970s," writes Richard D. Cudahy in a 1995 article, "The Second Battle of the Alamo: The Midnight Connection."
Why does Texas have its own power grid? | The Texas Tribune
It's confirmed: Frozen wind turbines were the least significant factor.
Bloomberg - Are you a robot?
Federal FERC report after 2011 Texas power outages (whose recommendations weren't followed):
The lack of any state, regional or Reliability Standards that directly require generators to perform winterization left winter-readiness dependent on plant or corporate choices. Generators were generally reactive as opposed to being proactive in their approach to winterization and preparedness. The single largest problem during the cold weather event was the freezing of instrumentation and equipment. Many generators failed to adequately prepare for winter, including the following: failed or inadequate heat traces, missing or inadequate wind breaks, inadequate insulation and lagging (metal covering for insulation), failure to have or to maintain heating elements and heat lamps in instrument cabinets, failure to train operators and maintenance personnel on winter preparations, lack of fuel switching training and drills, and failure to ensure adequate fuel.
From r/Texas users:
Only way to get the national guard to Texas is to have a BLM rally. Governor of the state has to request national guard
Pretty Sure the total cost of damage to personal property (burst pipes, fires) will far outweigh the cost skipped in 2011 to winterize power generation.
I was born in illinois and travel back and forth between dallas and chicago. Snow is waist high right now. The piles I shoveled from the driveway are 6 feet tall. And... no one cares. Illinois is prepared for this stuff, TX is not, but it should be. Should every citizen own snowpants and a snowblower? No. Should the powerplants stay on. yes, wtf.
Yeah, look at the ERCOT capacity graphs - the problems isn't the load (load is actually higher in summer when everyone is blasting their AC), it's that all these generators went offline because they were freezing up.
Why did they freeze up? Because the PUC of TX's policy is to not pay for capacity. Why? Because doing so would violate some sort of free-market dogma promoted by the TX Public Policy Foundation (https://files.texaspolicy.com/uploads/2018/08/16095417/2013-01-RR02-ResourceAdequacyElectricityMarkets-CEF-RMichaelsAKleit.pdf), which has held sway over the governor and a big hand in selecting the PUC commissioners.
More sources:
Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation
You Could Get Prison Time for Protesting a Pipeline in Texas—Even If It’s on Your Land
Fossil Fuel Exec Brags of 'Hitting the Jackpot' as Natural Gas Prices Surge Amid Deadly Crisis in Texas
Leaked Audio Shows Oil Lobbyist Bragging About Success in Criminalizing Pipeline Protests
Abbott Appointees Gutted Enforcement of Texas Power Grid Rules
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Blames Constituents for Giant Electric Bills: “Read the Fine Print”
Former Texas Governor Rick Perry says that Texans find massive power outages preferable to having more federal government interference in the state's energy grid.
Winter storm could cost Texas more money than any disaster in state history
Why on earth would right-wing people with connections to the fossil fuel industry lie about ‘frozen wind turbines’ in Texas?
"Texas shows that when you cannot govern, you lie. A lot."
A Texas-size failure, followed by a familiar Texas response: Blame California
