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It's a separate grid that's managed privately but overseen by tex gov with a lot less strict regulation than the national grids. It seemed great at first becau

It's a separate grid that's managed privately but overseen by tex gov with a lot less strict regulation than the national grids. It seemed great at first because the prices were really cheap, but the lack of good oversight meant the winterization didn't cover the 20 year horizon let alone a 50 or 100 year one. Temps got unusually cold in 2021 which led to huge power outages, deaths and incredible price problems, up to 180x[0]. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Texas_power_crisis

beaeglebeached 3y ago
[flagged]
- nixgeek 3y ago
  Not everyone should need a generator and a fuel store. Not everyone lives in housing which can even accommodate storing these safely, or operating them safely. These are exactly the issues I'd expect a well functioning government to actually solve, not "let natural selection work it out". What a horrible take, please can we not make light of 246 people prematurely dying across 77 counties in Texas, or imply somehow those 246 people were at fault?
  - beaeglebeached 3y ago
    [flagged]
fasthands9 3y ago
It's hard to see how the price problems are meaningful. Electricity in Texas is about twice as high than California. The 180x spike last only a few hours in a few spots. The consumer's total costs over the course of a year are lower in Texas than a California, by a large magnitude. I realize some people just had a perfect storm of a large monthly bill, but seems like that could be solved by more regulation on the pricing cap side while still leaving the production to be a more open system. I believe Texas has already moved in that direction.
- danans 3y ago
  > I realize some people just had a perfect storm of a large monthly bill, but seems like that could be solved by more regulation on the pricing cap side while still leaving the production to be a more open system. Adding price cap regulation will necessarily raise the average prices to pay for the occasions that the price goes 180x, or even 30x. There's no free lunch.
- pests 3y ago
  Electricity in Texas is twice as high than California?
  - fasthands9 3y ago
    I wrote that flipped.

beaeglebeached 3y ago

[flagged]

nixgeek 3y ago
Not everyone should need a generator and a fuel store. Not everyone lives in housing which can even accommodate storing these safely, or operating them safely. These are exactly the issues I'd expect a well functioning government to actually solve, not "let natural selection work it out". What a horrible take, please can we not make light of 246 people prematurely dying across 77 counties in Texas, or imply somehow those 246 people were at fault?
- beaeglebeached 3y ago
  [flagged]

fasthands9 3y ago

It's hard to see how the price problems are meaningful. Electricity in Texas is about twice as high than California. The 180x spike last only a few hours in a few spots. The consumer's total costs over the course of a year are lower in Texas than a California, by a large magnitude. I realize some people just had a perfect storm of a large monthly bill, but seems like that could be solved by more regulation on the pricing cap side while still leaving the production to be a more open system. I believe Texas has already moved in that direction.

danans 3y ago
> I realize some people just had a perfect storm of a large monthly bill, but seems like that could be solved by more regulation on the pricing cap side while still leaving the production to be a more open system. Adding price cap regulation will necessarily raise the average prices to pay for the occasions that the price goes 180x, or even 30x. There's no free lunch.
pests 3y ago
Electricity in Texas is twice as high than California?
- fasthands9 3y ago
  I wrote that flipped.