Texas power bankrupting its residents

[DW4_2016]

Almost 4$/kwh and the power provider begging users to adjust power usage. In a conservative state like that who would have thought it could happen? I remember when California was a failed state because they had power outages. No outages in california in years. I wonder what that means about Texas?

ERCOT urges Texans to voluntarily reduce electricity use amid extreme heat and record demand

ERCOT is asking Texans to voluntarily reduce their electricity use due to extreme temperatures.ERCOT is not experiencing any emergency conditions, but conservat

ktxs.com

Thank god it’s not climate change.

 

[okclem]

That company is straight up evil

 

[SDTiger9]

ERCOT

Experimental
Republican
Community
Of
Tomorrow

(We have witnesses…. I’ve coined this!!!)

 

[hopefultiger13]

Personally, I don't see the problem myself.

California tied themselves in knots demanding cleaner energy when there obviously wasn't enough clean energy to go around for extreme demands. They had rolling blackouts as a result, but THEY set up those rules knowing full well that it might mean that occasionally, they do w/o power.

Texas does not participate in the National grid rules and regulations and the voters and politicians of Texas have repeatedly said they are fine with that. They've privatized their electrical production to a great extent. They don't have the capacity to handle demand that's way above "normal" be that extreme heat or cold and they don't have agreements in place to purchase energy from neighbors in that case. It's expensive as hell to have extra capacity that may only be used once every couple of years and that would mean higher taxes. Texas doesn't want to do that. Again, THEY set up those rules knowing full well that it might mean that occasionally, they do w/o power.

That's straight up the way it should work. You get what you pay for and 99% of the time they have power. They don't want to pay through the nose for that extra 1% and that's their right.

 

[hopefultiger13]

That company is straight up evil

Nah... They are a for profit company. They want to minimize expenses and maximize profits. That's straight up capitalism, it's just not pretty in this case.

So they are sending as little as possible on energy generation while still doing what they are contracted to do. I'm sure they are capable of covering the demand for a normal situation plus whatever they felt like was reasonable for "peek" demand. It's an extreme situation (heat) in Texas and they can't cover that demand. And there's no plan in place for that situation. Personally, I'm a suspenders AND belt guy when it comes to situations like this, but not everyone feels that way (ESPECIALLY when taxes go up to have both).

 

[okclem]

Nah... They are a for profit company. They want to minimize expenses and maximize profits. That's straight up capitalism, it's just not pretty in this case.

So they are sending as little as possible on energy generation while still doing what they are contracted to do. I'm sure they are capable of covering the demand for a normal situation plus whatever they felt like was reasonable for "peek" demand. It's an extreme situation (heat) in Texas and they can't cover that demand. And there's no plan in place for that situation. Personally, I'm a suspenders AND belt guy when it comes to situations like this, but not everyone feels that way (ESPECIALLY when taxes go up to have both).

I meant exactly, literally, what I said. Unmitigated capitalism and pure evil are one and the same. That is what I believe.

 

[firegiver]

Shouldn't there be further de regulation to allow more electric companies to pop up and compete?

 

[DW4_2016]

Nah... They are a for profit company. They want to minimize expenses and maximize profits. That's straight up capitalism, it's just not pretty in this case.

So they are sending as little as possible on energy generation while still doing what they are contracted to do. I'm sure they are capable of covering the demand for a normal situation plus whatever they felt like was reasonable for "peek" demand. It's an extreme situation (heat) in Texas and they can't cover that demand. And there's no plan in place for that situation. Personally, I'm a suspenders AND belt guy when it comes to situations like this, but not everyone feels that way (ESPECIALLY when taxes go up to have both).

Does price gouging exist? What about in monopolies?

 

[okclem]

Does price gouging exist? What about in monopolies?

Nope, that's just good ol' capitalism and as a red blooded American patriot if you don't agree with it you're wrong. Apparently reasonable people can't disagree.

 

[WapPride]

It was 102deg last night with an 82% dew point at 11pm.

Awesome times in Houston

 

[hopefultiger13]

Does price gouging exist? What about in monopolies?

Absolutely price gouging exists and so do monopolies. It's part of being a capitalist society... An ugly part for sure. To hear it from extremist on both sides, communism/socialism OR Capitalism are the greatest. The truth is that both of these systems have very ugly downsides and IMHO the best system uses some of both to cover for the weaknesses of the other.

For example, I think that private, for profit companies can do MOST things better than some sort of government owned/controlled organization. On the other hand, I don't think for profit companies are a great fit for things where being efficient and inexpensive are not the top priorities. Healthcare, prisons, and education spring to mind here.

I think energy tends to be on the edge here. It's obviously critical and needs oversite, BUT expense, dependability, and efficiency are paramount.

The point being that Texas CHOSE to do things this way. This isn't the first problem they've had using their system, either. And they've chosen to CONTINUE to use their current system. And that system is private companies that have turning a profit as their highest priority running the show. Part of that is selling their product for what the market will bear and outperforming/eliminating the competition. Again, in this case, that is very ugly.

 

[flotiger]

Shouldn't there be further de regulation to allow more electric companies to pop up and compete?

I'm in the power generation business in Texas. One problem in Texas is there is no capacity market like there is in other unregulated states. Like the Northeast and California where we have other power plants. Capacity market, in simple terms, guarantees some amount of regular payment to just be there and able to deliver power as needed. it's too risky to spend $900M to build a plant without some idea of getting a return on investment. Many LLC plants in Texas have filed for bankruptcy over the years because of it. The politics are such that the folks in power don't want to explain this to voters, but with the demand starting to outstrip supply, the politicians are getting closer to it.

In Texas you can choose your provider, unlike the Southeast where vertically integrated utilities, regulated by the government, dominate the market.

 

[flotiger]

It was 102deg last night with an 82% dew point at 11pm.

Awesome times in Houston

Yuck. Been there. I sold my house in Houston about five months ago, and now spending most of my time at my place in SC. But I do pay more for power in SC than Houston.

 

[gardentiger]

I'm tempted to write a pithy political reason for this. Then I realized I have no farging idea what's going on with Texas's grid.

 

[DW4_2016]

I'm tempted to write a pithy political reason for this. Then I realized I have no farging idea what's going on with Texas's grid.

congratulations. not commenting when you dont know what's going on is the first step to recovery. we're all proud of you on this day

 

[okclem]

I'm tempted to write a pithy political reason for this. Then I realized I have no farging idea what's going on with Texas's grid.

It was pretty big news a couple of winters ago when disaster struck and Ted Cruz ran away to Cancun. People aren't just shooting from the hip here.