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Texas is a large state, which makes these statistics weird - the cliched example for large states is that California has more republicans than most red states.

Texas is a large state, which makes these statistics weird - the cliched example for large states is that California has more republicans than most red states. The disconnected grid is to avoid any federal regulation (because a connection across state lines would obviously count as "interstate commerce"), which seems to have real value given the current clusterfuck of a political environment.

pjc50 3y ago
> avoid any federal regulation (because a connection across state lines would obviously count as "interstate commerce"), which seems to have real value given the current clusterfuck of a political environment. Could you explain the practical advantages of this and which federal regulations the state is better off without? What particular details of federal energy regulation are bad? (Besides, given Wickard vs Fillmore I'm not convinced that disconnection would be enough to avoid incurring commerce clause regulation given a sufficiently motivated supreme court)
- nomel 3y ago
  For reference, I pay over 65c/kw hour in the heat of the day, in California. It’s going up significantly shortly. Their power is significantly cheaper. I naively assume this is a practical advantage.
thinkcontext 3y ago
Even Ted Cruz had to back down on the Texas swagger about ERCOT saving the state from communistic FERC after hundreds froze to death. Care to explain how you are immune from this reflection?
- chrisco255 3y ago
  Yes, natural disasters happen in every state that kill thousands of people every year. A freak blizzard that plunged TX below freezing for more than a week straight, something I don't believe has ever been recorded in the state, caught the infrastructure off guard. Nature continues to throw curve balls at humanity, as ever.
  - viraptor 3y ago
    It's not really "off-guard" when they were warned about exactly that issue in a federal report in... 2011 https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/08-16-11-report.pdf https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/08-16-11-re... and still have not followed the recommendations. That does not count as a curve ball for me. Especially when the report about 2011 says: > Despite the recommendations issued by the PUCT in its report on the 1989 event, the majority of the problems generators experienced in 2011 resulted from failures of the very same type of equipment that failed in the earlier event. And in many cases, these failures were experienced by the same generators
    - plagiarist 3y ago
      It's just a delusional and brainwashed right winger interacting disingenuously. I notice they have yet to author a response as to what government regulations were good to avoid, but they have a canned response why it's fine that this debacle of a grid cannot keep up with a single winter storm.
      - varelse 3y ago
        [dead]
jackson1442 3y ago
Considering that this lack of regulation resulted in Texas being only ”seconds and minutes” from a months-long blackout in 2021, I disagree that it is a good idea. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-power-outages-ercot/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-power-outages-...
- chrisco255 3y ago
  You shouldn't take hyperbole at face value. There was never, ever going to be a months-long blackout.
  - tehwebguy 3y ago
    I don’t know that, but the hyperbole does take focus away from the couple hundred people who died as a result
  - jackson1442 3y ago
    Maybe “months-long” was hyperbole, but the (former) CEO of ERCOT has stated that it would take weeks, if not longer, to do a black start of the grid. I’m inclined to believe that as a baseline since statements like that make him personally look bad. https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-08-05/if-the-texas-power-grid-had-gone-down-it-would-need-a-black-start-how-long-would-that-take https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-08-05/if-the-tex...
- vorpalhex 3y ago
  Having lived on the east coast with blackouts lasting up to a week with some regularity and in Texas with one major blackout from a historical event.. I'll stick to Texas. https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/pepco-week-long-restoration-effort-in-dc-region/ https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/pepco-week-long-resto...
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    Texas has a lot more than the one blackout. Large storms cause any energy provider problems. For example: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-outages/ https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-out... > More than 160,000 of their customers in East Texas and Louisiana remain without power as of 4 p.m. Sunday. Some Texans may have to wait for full restoration until June 23 — a week after losing power, the provider said.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

pjc50 3y ago

> avoid any federal regulation (because a connection across state lines would obviously count as "interstate commerce"), which seems to have real value given the current clusterfuck of a political environment. Could you explain the practical advantages of this and which federal regulations the state is better off without? What particular details of federal energy regulation are bad? (Besides, given Wickard vs Fillmore I'm not convinced that disconnection would be enough to avoid incurring commerce clause regulation given a sufficiently motivated supreme court)

nomel 3y ago
For reference, I pay over 65c/kw hour in the heat of the day, in California. It’s going up significantly shortly. Their power is significantly cheaper. I naively assume this is a practical advantage.

thinkcontext 3y ago

Even Ted Cruz had to back down on the Texas swagger about ERCOT saving the state from communistic FERC after hundreds froze to death. Care to explain how you are immune from this reflection?

chrisco255 3y ago
Yes, natural disasters happen in every state that kill thousands of people every year. A freak blizzard that plunged TX below freezing for more than a week straight, something I don't believe has ever been recorded in the state, caught the infrastructure off guard. Nature continues to throw curve balls at humanity, as ever.
- viraptor 3y ago
  It's not really "off-guard" when they were warned about exactly that issue in a federal report in... 2011 https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/08-16-11-report.pdf https://www.ferc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-04/08-16-11-re... and still have not followed the recommendations. That does not count as a curve ball for me. Especially when the report about 2011 says: > Despite the recommendations issued by the PUCT in its report on the 1989 event, the majority of the problems generators experienced in 2011 resulted from failures of the very same type of equipment that failed in the earlier event. And in many cases, these failures were experienced by the same generators
  - plagiarist 3y ago
    It's just a delusional and brainwashed right winger interacting disingenuously. I notice they have yet to author a response as to what government regulations were good to avoid, but they have a canned response why it's fine that this debacle of a grid cannot keep up with a single winter storm.
    - varelse 3y ago
      [dead]

jackson1442 3y ago

Considering that this lack of regulation resulted in Texas being only ”seconds and minutes” from a months-long blackout in 2021, I disagree that it is a good idea. https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-power-outages-ercot/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/18/texas-power-outages-...

chrisco255 3y ago
You shouldn't take hyperbole at face value. There was never, ever going to be a months-long blackout.
- tehwebguy 3y ago
  I don’t know that, but the hyperbole does take focus away from the couple hundred people who died as a result
- jackson1442 3y ago
  Maybe “months-long” was hyperbole, but the (former) CEO of ERCOT has stated that it would take weeks, if not longer, to do a black start of the grid. I’m inclined to believe that as a baseline since statements like that make him personally look bad. https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-08-05/if-the-texas-power-grid-had-gone-down-it-would-need-a-black-start-how-long-would-that-take https://www.kut.org/energy-environment/2021-08-05/if-the-tex...
vorpalhex 3y ago
Having lived on the east coast with blackouts lasting up to a week with some regularity and in Texas with one major blackout from a historical event.. I'll stick to Texas. https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/pepco-week-long-restoration-effort-in-dc-region/ https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/pepco-week-long-resto...
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  Texas has a lot more than the one blackout. Large storms cause any energy provider problems. For example: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-outages/ https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/18/east-texas-power-out... > More than 160,000 of their customers in East Texas and Louisiana remain without power as of 4 p.m. Sunday. Some Texans may have to wait for full restoration until June 23 — a week after losing power, the provider said.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]