Posted on 02/06/2011 10:18:30 AM PST by dragnet2
Did some work at a gas plant in North Texas many years ago. Much of of the equipment was more exposed than the plants up north. In fact that was part of the reason I was there - to get some instruments to read the temperature and turn on heaters when it got cold like this. The flip side is, exposed, they had less problem with the high summer heat. Doesn’t help that they canceled so many coal plants and are trying to rely more on wind. They also have a problem that they are on their own grid and are limited on the power they can bring in from other states.
This is a region that has large commercial citrus groves, so it very rarely has weather this cold.
Two reasons REGULATIONS and WIND ENERGY is the cause!!!
I intend to copy the battery backup system so my generator doesn’t kick on during every thunderstorm power loss or brownout ...... I made use of old technology aka transom windows above interior doors, ceiling fans, large eaves and porches for moving cool or warm air throughout the home with ceiling fans etc ...
May have questions for ya later when I start my ‘battery’ backup project. My electric bills in the winter run around 20 dollars average. But then we’re empty nest sorts that work during the day and hangout in one room in the evenings so a couple of LED Bulbs in table or desk lamps with the TV and Computer are all the draw on power we have unless really hot or cold days .
Power inverters on our trucks and cars also allow us another source of emergency power if need be.
As stated we understand , water , shelter, food, security, power and transportation is OUR responsibility. Commercial or goobermint sources are total BS during emergencies and for the most part day to day PITA’s ! Reliability isn’t there so plan accordingly.
Bed tanks of 150 gals in each truck with the OEM 34 gal tanks is solid amount always on hand.... and a 34ga auxiliary tank in my FJ80 landcruiser give me 72 total gallons in that rig allows us to bypass the need for fuel if SHTF for a long time. Two KLR650 motorcycles allow us local transportation that is very cheap and high mpg use for errands, work etc ... Looking right now for an older VW TDI golf hatchback that we can turn into a commuter ride. Friend has one that after every hyper-miler trick in the book was applied, gets 60 plus mpg. That is my “now” project due fuel costs going up ....again !....:o)
Good info....Stay safe !!
Yep El Paso had its problems. I read somewhere that there was enough capacity available to handle the peaks but that went down hill as the generating units begin to trip off line. Seems like I remember something in the mid 50,000 mw range as what was needed but don’t quote that as accurate.
http://www.kvia.com/news/26767196/detail.html
11:55 am MST February 6, 2011
EL PASO, Texas — El Paso Electric’s local generation system continues to recover, according to company officials. El Paso Electric currently has five of its eight local generation units back up and providing power to the system in addition to our remote generation which has been operating during the entire event.
The rolling outages stopped shortly after noon on Friday, Feb. 4
El Paso Electric lost all eight of its local generation units on Wednesday during a cold snap that froze equipment. The utility company instituted rolling blackouts from Wednesday through Friday to keep from going over a certain amount of electricity that was being transmitted from outside of El Paso.
end
You bet...Someone already mentioned up thread this was basically caused by government.
If we had built coal fired or even better nukes instead of the crappy windmills this would not have been a problem.
it is true. The total load forecast was changed the night before and the 6000 MW wind forecast RAPIDLY went down to around 2000 MW. It was too late to schedule the generators. You have ABSOLUTELY no idea how this industry works. Traders who noticed this in time and took a position made a killing as the cost per megawatt shot up to 3000 dollars an hour.
Not to me.
The only embarrassment is the idiot ‘Pre-sent’ for his part in destroying a perfectly good country and jerry jones for taking power to heat his precious dome while others put up with blackouts.
Actually, many people whith medical notices to the electric companies had their electricity cut.
This was nothing put pure greed and lack of planning. They didn’t want to bring up those power plants because of the cost involved.
They gambled it wouldn’t be that bad and it was. Heads should roll,but they won’t.
Screw Ercot.
***You have ABSOLUTELY no idea how this industry works.***
Oh yes I do! I retired two years ago after thirty one years in a coal fired power plant, 28 years as a control center operator and had to deal with dispachers, hourly load forcasts and traders constantly!
3000/MWHr? Wow!! I remember, before "deregulation", when the emergency power rate was $100/MWHr. And we used to complain back then.
Yes, it went up to $3000/MWH. I am not joking.
Thinking about that $3000/MWHr for a minute - the case could be made that if that cost could actually be passed through the the end user, the end user would curtail most of their use and demand would drop as a result. OF course, if the ratepayer had to carry the burden at on-peak pricing, they would certainly have to be given the opportunity to share the cheap off-peak rates when they occur.
It is variable rate and there are times when the cost is negative. Besides, 3000 per MWH translates to $3 per kwH which is what matters for retail customers. They don't seem to care much as long as these are just occasional spikes.
Girl Friday says not......:o)
You heard wrong. Get a better source of information.
1990 - 2009 Existing Nameplate and Net Summer Capacity by Energy Source, Producer Type and State
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/existing_capacity_state.xls
Texas
1995 Total Electric Capacity 77,469 MegaWatts
2000 Total Electric Capacity 86,948 MegaWatts
2005 Total Electric Capacity 109,956 MegaWatts
2009 Total Electric Capacity 111,848 MegaWatts
***Did some work at a gas plant in North Texas many years ago. Much of of the equipment was more exposed than the plants up north.***
Years ago the company I worked for built a coal fired power plant in East Texas. It was built to the warm weather standards there.
Then the company decided to build another plant 300 miles north in Arkansas and built it to the same standards, after all, Texas and arkansas join!
When we started this hog up, the first winter we experienced all sorts of cold weather problems you would not believe! Frozen water lines, air lines (driers didn’t work) frozen caustic lines, exposed everything!
They spent the next few years insulating and covering and wrapping things which should never have been left undone.
We dreaded EVERY winter!
Unfortunately, those "negative" times tend to be at 0400 hours, when most of the real world is asleep or in jail. :)
$3/KWH is enormous, considering my flat rate is just under 10 cents/KWH and that includes the cost of distributing and transmitting the power, and all the taxes and fees.
It would actually be rather cumbersome for the average homeowner to have to follow the actual market rate over the course of the day. I mean, at 1 PM, when AC load is peak, that $40 market price becomes $140 or $440 and folks just aren't into running home to turn off the AC, only to have to run it constantly for 8 hours to pump out the accumulated heat.
Some sort of modified time-of-use rate, with weekly scheduled prices might work. Something predictable so that people could plan around it.
Then again, the flat rate isn't bad - I don't have to worry about whether my provider is paying $10 or $1000 per MWH. All I know is that I'm paying just under 10 cents per KWH.
Keep in mind that not all of Texas is in ERCOT. Parts is in the eastern interconnection, and part (including El Paso) is in the Western interconnection. So in the earlier post where ERCOT generating capacity was quoted, that did NOT include these areas.
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