3 ms·

US and Canada grids are split east-west, and then there is a third grid restricted entirely to the geographic region of Texas

salamandersss 3y ago
Texas is connected to Mexico and some other exceptions. The fed though would rather frozen dead Texans than deregulate and allow ERCOT to connect as they do to Mexico. Fed basically holding some of the poorer rural Texans hostage to influence some rich ERCOT bureaucrats to change their regulations -- pretty fucked up IMO.
- chx 3y ago
  say what Texas has made a conscious decision since 1935 when FDR signed the Federal Power Act to stay away because they didn't want the feds to mess with their grid. The feds have no power here because the Texas grid does not cross state lines. When West Texas Utilities did connect through state lines in 1976 (called the Midnight Connection) both HL&P and Texas Electric Service Company immediately disconnected from them to avoid falling under federal regulation. It was not the feds. https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/connecting-past-and-future-history-texas-isolated-power-grid https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/connecting-past-and-...
  - salamandersss 3y ago
    Yes the federal regulations make demands in order to connect. The feds can release their hostages and drop the federal regulation demands and deregulate and Texas would surely connect to these interstate grids as they did to Mexico.
    - mistrial9 3y ago
      seeing is believing, until then no one can say that with any certainty
rootusrootus 3y ago
But all of those are connected via HVDC, so aren't they the same grid? Or are you limiting your definition to synchronous grids?
- chx 3y ago
  Indeed a sync'd grid is what is typically being called a single grid. HVDC only got the required fast breaker a decade ago so it is nowhere near as widely deployed as the AC system (it's hard to make a HVDC breaker because even if an AC breaker arcs it'll self extinguish in an extremely short period of time as the voltage crosses zero, HVDC never does this so you need something to force the current to zero). Maybe the definition will change over time, it is, after all, completely arbitrary.

salamandersss 3y ago

Texas is connected to Mexico and some other exceptions. The fed though would rather frozen dead Texans than deregulate and allow ERCOT to connect as they do to Mexico. Fed basically holding some of the poorer rural Texans hostage to influence some rich ERCOT bureaucrats to change their regulations -- pretty fucked up IMO.

chx 3y ago
say what Texas has made a conscious decision since 1935 when FDR signed the Federal Power Act to stay away because they didn't want the feds to mess with their grid. The feds have no power here because the Texas grid does not cross state lines. When West Texas Utilities did connect through state lines in 1976 (called the Midnight Connection) both HL&P and Texas Electric Service Company immediately disconnected from them to avoid falling under federal regulation. It was not the feds. https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/connecting-past-and-future-history-texas-isolated-power-grid https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/connecting-past-and-...
- salamandersss 3y ago
  Yes the federal regulations make demands in order to connect. The feds can release their hostages and drop the federal regulation demands and deregulate and Texas would surely connect to these interstate grids as they did to Mexico.
  - mistrial9 3y ago
    seeing is believing, until then no one can say that with any certainty

rootusrootus 3y ago

But all of those are connected via HVDC, so aren't they the same grid? Or are you limiting your definition to synchronous grids?

chx 3y ago
Indeed a sync'd grid is what is typically being called a single grid. HVDC only got the required fast breaker a decade ago so it is nowhere near as widely deployed as the AC system (it's hard to make a HVDC breaker because even if an AC breaker arcs it'll self extinguish in an extremely short period of time as the voltage crosses zero, HVDC never does this so you need something to force the current to zero). Maybe the definition will change over time, it is, after all, completely arbitrary.