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> We certainly do need to increase capacity, but that is mostly due to the surge in population, not any huge mismanagement. I’ve lived in Texas all my 40+ year
by conductr 5y ago
> We certainly do need to increase capacity, but that is mostly due to the surge in population, not any huge mismanagement.
I’ve lived in Texas all my 40+ years and I fully believe it to be mismanagement for a utility to not account for growth. This state is always growing. Growth is neither unexpected or out of the ordinary. They should have a plan for an assumed level of growth with a contingency plan for how to handle their assumption being wrong. They have nothing except outdated and neglected maintenance because of short term thinking, which is only a side effect of mismanagement.
- unethical_ban 5y agoWell, I agree with the problem, but not the cause. Infrastructure maintenance and failure to plan for it are endemic in America. The only time it seems that ongoing maintenance is planned and funded from the beginning of a project is toll roads, where private-public entities can extract profit from the road. My stronger point though, is funding. It isn't the fault of state utility operators that we don't have the capacity. It is the fault of local and state governments who have not reacted quickly enough to growth requirements.
- conductr 5y agoExtremely valid point. I fear toll roads will be out of favor by the masses before their profit horizon kicks in. In a good portion of DFW, tolls are typically in the $300-$400 per month range out of a household budget. And, they keep adding more and more tolls. Some portions of town has an average household income that simply can not afford to get around town. Oh, and public transportation is a joke because... it's Texas. ERCOT should be more vocal about their budgetary needs and the consequences of delaying planned expenditures. The growth numbers support it. Legalize weed to pay for it.