> My friends on the left tend to blame deregulation. Sadly, not one of them is spelling out exactly what regulation they think would solve this problem. This i

> My friends on the left tend to blame deregulation. Sadly, not one of them is spelling out exactly what regulation they think would solve this problem. This is objectively false and highly misleading. What to do isn't going to be spelled out by 'friends on the left' because those friends know they do not have the technical expertise to make such suggestions. One typical characteristic of 'the left' is looking to experts for solutions not just their own knowledge. In 2011, there was a SIMILAR event in Texas. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) wrote a study and issued report - see link below. That is how this should work, I know engineering enough to read the thing and say 'this seems logical' but I don't know enough to write something like this. I'm what he would call 'the left'. The report has an EXTENSIVE list of regulatory recommendations. Most of them go to 'collecting documentation about power plants' and 'checking that power plants aren't lying'. Others are 'changing your thresholds for action to be more conservative'...that is regulation! People seem to have this idea that regulation is some massive thing...but really it is knowledge management. Example from the document: > 5. ERCOT should consider modifying its procedures to (i) allow it to significantly raise the 2300 MW responsive reserve requirement in extreme low temperatures, (ii) allow it to direct generating units to utilize preoperational warming prior to anticipated severe cold weather, and (iii) allow it to verify with each generating unit its preparedness for severe cold weather, including operating limits, potential fuel needs and fuel switching abilities. Translation, they want the texas energy regulators to: * (i) Raise the threshold for when you start getting more energy if the forecast says it will be cold. Your current threshold is basically running it to the empty light on your gastank and thats reckless * (ii) Authorize themselves to tell plants 'its going to get cold please start getting ready if your plant is off' * (iii) Actually check that what the plants are telling them about their cold weather preparedness is true. > 6. Transmission Operators, Balancing Authorities, and Generation Owner/Operators should consider developing mechanisms to verify that units that have fuel switching capabilities can periodically demonstrate those capabilities. Translation: If a plant says 'hey look at this cool thing I can do' the regulator should say 'show me' not 'cool I trust you' If you look at other professional codes and standards (e.g., ASME, NFPA) the way it typically works is 'here is a standard you should design to' and then you attest that it is designed to or that you ran the test. More important regulations might involve outside validated testing but really...most of this is just documentation. This isn't overly burdensome, it is basic good practices. This isn't 'the left' failing, this is them saying 'listen to experts' and people laughing. https://www.nerc.com/pa/rrm/ea/ColdWeatherTrainingMaterials/FERC%20NERC%20Findings%20and%20Recommendations.pdf https://www.nerc.com/pa/rrm/ea/ColdWeatherTrainingMaterials/...