What? TX was fine beyond some trees falling and taking out lines in wind and a few people experiencing low gas pressure
There were no widespread prolonged outages, even though most of reddit etc was perversely hoping people would suffer so they would have an excuse to blame the Governor
I have no reason to think so. Imo, we lucked out on timing, higher temperatures, no precipitation and shorter duration. As far as I know, operators can still just pay some ridiculously small fine for not being ready.
This was a much, much, much shorter cold spell than 2 years ago. It was below freezing for less than 24 hours in Houston. If it stayed below freezing for 3-5 days straight again, we'd be in an equally terrible situation as 2 years ago.
Disagree. This week has been dry, so no icing conditions taking out all sorts of key energy infrastructure (wind turbines being only one of many on that list) like last time.
As a person who lives in Texas and has for a while, it’s not nearly as bad as last time. It’s been below freezing for about two days and there was virtually no snow, rain, or ice. Some mild flurries for about a third of a day in the beginning but nothing stuck.
People are quick to judge Texas but context matters and other states in the region suffer similarly but don’t make the news in the same way.
When Americans talk about “below 0”, they must be talking Celsius, correct? Is it common to use that term even though they use Fahrenheit for everything else?
Updated to be “below freezing”. As an American who learned both systems and uses both in different contexts, I didn’t realize I was thinking of 0°C when I wrote it. I’m glad you caught this.
In the southern states, the terminology is much more loose. "Freezing" just means "below 55F". "Below zero" can mean anything under 32F, it's very ambiguous (some use this correctly, some do not). Usually if it's actually below freezing, people will be very excitedly telling you about the frost they saw on the grass in the morning!
Northern states differentiate between ("below zero" / "negative temperatures") vs. "below freezing". Actually some northern states often omit the "below" in "below freezing" and just say "it's freezing" and people will correct you if its 35F and you use "its freezing outside" to colloquially mean that you personally feel its very cold outside: "It's above freezing actually, not much ice to worry about."
In the northern states, if it's -40F outside people's eyes will turn into daggers as they tell you, "It's dangerously cold outside right now. Are you sure you need to go out? Take this extra clothing/blanket/etc. Is your cell phone charged? Will your car have trouble making it? I can drive you."
No, if I say "below zero", I mean below zero Fahrenheit. For below zero Celsius I'd just say "below freezing", which I know as 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Zero degrees Celsius is no big deal. I do long walks with my dogs out in it regularly, and often don't even wear a hat or gloves. Zero degrees Fahrenheit can be dangerous and I try not to be out in it long.
It got down to -33 degrees F after wind chill yesterday. That might be the coldest temperature I remember experiencing around here. Except for a couple brief moments herding one of my dogs back inside since he stupidly takes his time out there even in this cold until his paws get too cold, I didn't go out in it at all.
Forests come back and resequester carbon, they are net neutral over the long term. Fossil fuels are millions of years stored carbon that aren’t coming back.
Allowing fracked gas power plants to operate without proper winterizing so they fail in the cold, unfairly shifting costs off of the fossil fuel operators who control the state government onto solar and gas, hamstringing residential solar.
Actually, California and Texas are actually a lot more similar than they are different, in regards to their energy production and needs. Both expect to get their peak energy requirements in the summer (and are occasionally surprised by wintertime peaks), and they rank #1 and #2 in the 50 states for the share of their power consumption that is renewables. It's odd that a state like Texas, for which the oil industry is such a major player, is #2 in renewables, but it's true.
The main reason is that, in imitation of California, they made an energy market where you can charge more for power during peak times, which means that solar or wind that doesn't always produce, but when it does is often during peak summertime usage, can be a lot more economically competitive. They are able to make up (economically) for the times when they aren't producing, during the peak usage price spikes. Texas doesn't brag as much about using renewables, and certainly would never admit to imitating California, but there it is.
Unfortunately, solar and wind don't always produce during winter peak usage, so when it happens, we cross our fingers. But I think Texas is doing a lot better than two years ago.
>If something breaks, you can still drive to go fix it like you always would.
Unless your vehicle is all electric and lost capacity in the cold :-)
(They should be hybrid for emergencies even if refilling the gas tank becomes akin to draining the oil on a maintenance checklist for the next decade or two.)
I don't know that anyone that lived through Enron and rolling blackouts in the middle of summer in California has forgotten about it, so I'm not sure why you think that Texas is unfairly being singled out. It's just that a cold snap back in 2011 prompted regulators to give recommendations to winterize which were prompted ignored in favor of, I dunno, profits or something. Other regulations that exist in other parts of the world that would regulate profits and prohibit the passing on of $9,000/kWh pricing to consumers also don't exist in Texas, so maybe it is Texas that's being singled out.
>I don't know that anyone that lived through Enron and rolling blackouts in the middle of summer in California has forgotten about it, so I'm not sure why you think that Texas is unfairly being singled out. It's just that a cold snap back in 2011 prompted regulators to give recommendations to winterize which were prompted ignored
Enron happened so long ago folks who couldn't vote then are now in their mid 30s. We did not choose to be born, and you do not choose how we parse the reality created when previous generations seized power. A contact once chastised me she doesn't hate Cuba, she hates Castro... I suspect if you replace Cuba with Texas and Castro with Cruz, a similar sentiment permeates the Lone Star State.
I'm just one guy, and I can only speak for myself, but from my perspective as a Pennsylvanian who's voted in every presidential election I've been eligible as boomers and bitcoin boys bleat about how I'm lazy and ignorant when they only hear what they want lest they have a violent meltdown, Texas maintained it's own grid to make succession easier, thumbed it's nose at the feds, turned it's back on science, and that's the... reason... that Texans will be having a situation like this every year.
Make no mistake: Due to climate change, events that used to come once a decade will plunge Texans into cold and darkness on the regular, since it turns out something and large and complex a system as a power grid is hard to maintain, especially as you experience brain drain due to a persistent lack of respect for basic democratic norms.
This comment thread is not about singling any individual... state... out. It is about painting a vivid picture that if you repeatedly and violently insist that things been done a certain way in contravention of all reason, then will you notice you got exactly what you asked for and be given no choice but to submit to what you opted in to as those who made better decisions under uncertainly literally laugh out loud that you thought this moment would be any other way.
(Or to put it simply: as they say in Appalachia: fuck around... find out.)
> The order allows the state’s grid operator to exceed certain air pollution limits to boost generation amid record power demand in the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, whose service area includes 90% of electric customers in Texas, requested the emergency order Friday, warning it may need to resort to blackouts.
In the Tennessee Valley Authority service area, at least in my specific area, we had short periods of intermittent ~15 minutes blackouts. On the 23rd it was for barely an hour and it was 2-3 hours on the 24th. With the slowly rising temperatures it has not been needed today and is not expected to be needed again in the near future.
Anyone interested in the 2021 emergency should check out the Flow Immersive data story. Its one of those where 3D just captures everything so much better due to the multiple overlapping factors like energy mix, temps, demand, and off the scale price spikes. The blog post offers a narrative play by play summary [1] but the 3D visualizations are super well done and original [2]. Amazing they came so close to loosing the grid and amazing here we are again with capacity issues.
I think it's popular to "dig" on Texas, and also it will probably generate more clicks since last year's Texas freeze is still fresh on people's minds.
The worst I've seen was power at my work would shut off for a second or two and come on, but it did it every 8-15 min. Meanwhile at my home, 15 min drive, it never shut off.
These articles come across like they're hoping it will happen. :/
37 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 92.6 ms ] threadThere were no widespread prolonged outages, even though most of reddit etc was perversely hoping people would suffer so they would have an excuse to blame the Governor
https://p.datadoghq.com/sb/5c2fc00be-393be929c9c55c3b80b557d...
I think that the problems of almost 2 years ago are causing TX to be more proactive, this time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis
People are quick to judge Texas but context matters and other states in the region suffer similarly but don’t make the news in the same way.
32°F is not all that cold, but below 0, that represents a warning that it’s dangerous to go outside without proper cold weather protection.
It was -4 F on my drive in to work Tuesday, which is well below average temperatures here, but not particularly notable.
(I realize that in this case the other poster changed their phrasing)
In the southern states, the terminology is much more loose. "Freezing" just means "below 55F". "Below zero" can mean anything under 32F, it's very ambiguous (some use this correctly, some do not). Usually if it's actually below freezing, people will be very excitedly telling you about the frost they saw on the grass in the morning!
Northern states differentiate between ("below zero" / "negative temperatures") vs. "below freezing". Actually some northern states often omit the "below" in "below freezing" and just say "it's freezing" and people will correct you if its 35F and you use "its freezing outside" to colloquially mean that you personally feel its very cold outside: "It's above freezing actually, not much ice to worry about."
In the northern states, if it's -40F outside people's eyes will turn into daggers as they tell you, "It's dangerously cold outside right now. Are you sure you need to go out? Take this extra clothing/blanket/etc. Is your cell phone charged? Will your car have trouble making it? I can drive you."
Zero degrees Celsius is no big deal. I do long walks with my dogs out in it regularly, and often don't even wear a hat or gloves. Zero degrees Fahrenheit can be dangerous and I try not to be out in it long.
It got down to -33 degrees F after wind chill yesterday. That might be the coldest temperature I remember experiencing around here. Except for a couple brief moments herding one of my dogs back inside since he stupidly takes his time out there even in this cold until his paws get too cold, I didn't go out in it at all.
We'll only judge Texans that lambast the California energy grid while they use 19% coal.
Texas hasn't been shutting down power plants while subsidizing less capable replacements and outlawing non-electric alternatives.
Texas governor also hasnt warned people not to charge their state subsidized electric cars...
Note: Not a Texan so I reserve the right to hold both states in contempt.
Allowing fracked gas power plants to operate without proper winterizing so they fail in the cold, unfairly shifting costs off of the fossil fuel operators who control the state government onto solar and gas, hamstringing residential solar.
The main reason is that, in imitation of California, they made an energy market where you can charge more for power during peak times, which means that solar or wind that doesn't always produce, but when it does is often during peak summertime usage, can be a lot more economically competitive. They are able to make up (economically) for the times when they aren't producing, during the peak usage price spikes. Texas doesn't brag as much about using renewables, and certainly would never admit to imitating California, but there it is.
Unfortunately, solar and wind don't always produce during winter peak usage, so when it happens, we cross our fingers. But I think Texas is doing a lot better than two years ago.
I think this is a big part of the difference. If something breaks, you can still drive to go fix it like you always would.
Unless your vehicle is all electric and lost capacity in the cold :-)
(They should be hybrid for emergencies even if refilling the gas tank becomes akin to draining the oil on a maintenance checklist for the next decade or two.)
Enron happened so long ago folks who couldn't vote then are now in their mid 30s. We did not choose to be born, and you do not choose how we parse the reality created when previous generations seized power. A contact once chastised me she doesn't hate Cuba, she hates Castro... I suspect if you replace Cuba with Texas and Castro with Cruz, a similar sentiment permeates the Lone Star State.
I'm just one guy, and I can only speak for myself, but from my perspective as a Pennsylvanian who's voted in every presidential election I've been eligible as boomers and bitcoin boys bleat about how I'm lazy and ignorant when they only hear what they want lest they have a violent meltdown, Texas maintained it's own grid to make succession easier, thumbed it's nose at the feds, turned it's back on science, and that's the... reason... that Texans will be having a situation like this every year.
Make no mistake: Due to climate change, events that used to come once a decade will plunge Texans into cold and darkness on the regular, since it turns out something and large and complex a system as a power grid is hard to maintain, especially as you experience brain drain due to a persistent lack of respect for basic democratic norms.
This comment thread is not about singling any individual... state... out. It is about painting a vivid picture that if you repeatedly and violently insist that things been done a certain way in contravention of all reason, then will you notice you got exactly what you asked for and be given no choice but to submit to what you opted in to as those who made better decisions under uncertainly literally laugh out loud that you thought this moment would be any other way.
(Or to put it simply: as they say in Appalachia: fuck around... find out.)
https://www.npr.org/podcasts/1004840920/the-disconnect-power...
https://archive.ph/rXtj9#selection-3763.0-3767.72
> The order allows the state’s grid operator to exceed certain air pollution limits to boost generation amid record power demand in the state. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, whose service area includes 90% of electric customers in Texas, requested the emergency order Friday, warning it may need to resort to blackouts.
[1] https://flowimmersive.medium.com/the-winter-texas-blackout-o...
[2] https://a.flow.gl/flow/yuqa8d/display
Ohio, Kentucky and a few other states are experiencing rolling blackouts. Texas seems to have been fine.
"States and territories by customers out Maine 110,693 New York 38,041 Virginia 19,038 New Hampshire 18,056 Pennsylvania 13,040"
These articles come across like they're hoping it will happen. :/
It was down to 11 F the other night.