Posted on 02/21/2021 8:56:40 AM PST by TigerClaws
TEXAS POWER CRISIS THREAD: Once it was clear that the polar vortex would engulf the entire state of Texas @GovAbbott declared an emergency and asked President Biden for an EPA waiver to allow power generation facilities to operate at full capacity until the emergency passed.
2/ Biden's EPA refused Governor Abbott's request and instead offered to allow certain power generation facilities a waiver if they raised the prices they charged to Texans to more than $1,500/MWh resulting in massive statewide power outages and a failure of the grid. (Letter at below thread)
3/ The truth is that the federal government controls how Texas generates electricity - the mix of sources and the capacity of each. The EPA requires that Texas' fossil fuel power generators operate far below their maximum output.
4/ Gov. Abbott knew that if the EPA would allow our natural gas and coal power plants to operate at peak efficiency they could meet 110% of the demand the state faced last week. The EPA refused.
5/ Sadly, Biden's acting EPA chief, David Huizenga, is not an expert at power generation but instead an expert with nuclear waste management. When Gov. Abbott received the EPA's refusal he knew Texas was in trouble and there was nothing he could do about it.
6/ My question? Why didn't @GovAbbott simply order all Texas power generation facilities to operate at peak efficiency and force Biden to send his army to Texas to stop us? Does anyone think Biden would have sent the army to shut down our national gas power generation facilities?
https://twitter.com/amuse/status/1363522274091929601?s=10
More people here on FR are talking more about Cruz than Biden.
It is so obvious. Story that does not reflect well on democrats (Biden) and/or democrat religious dogma (green energy) so they isolate a hated Republican and focus on him as if “he, Ted Cruz, a US Senator” somehow could do something to fix the mess.
Many who are critical of Cruz even admit that all he could do is make photo ops.
It really is absurd how even right thinking Americans fall prey to left-wing media gaslighting.
FWIW - I am not really a “Cruz” guy. I will admit that he missed the chance for meaningless and ridiculous photo ops that do nothing to really solve the problem because that is apparently what we expect today from our politicians and most of our nation is conditioned to look towards DC to fix all problems.
However, we are not talking about the content of this thread, the fact that it took Biden a week to sign a disaster declaration, or that green energy often fails when we need it most.
A total win for the progressives on this one.
PS - who gives a damn about the dog? If a dog has food and water along with a caretaker to meet its basic needs it is fine.
Total gaslighting. We cannot win when the media controls us. This was diversion from the real issues just as the Green Zone in the “occupied” capital is.
So many fall for this..... we should have laughed at this. There is not ONE THING that Cruz could have done in person that would have changed this. He had a phone and could tweet and make phone calls for whatever that is worth, but this whole situation is completely out of his wheelhouse. He is one senator out of 100. It’s not like he can ram through a bill or something!
Good for him for taking his kids somewhere during a deep freeze. Perfect time for a vacation. If I promise my daughters something that is more important than a “photo op”. From personal experience, all VIP’s do during disaster responses is get in the way.
Ask yourself, if DC was concerned about the problems of the American people why are they focusing on everything but the American people?
It’s a diversion. We should mock them all for it. Predictably, Cruz falls all over himself apologizing instead of pointing out what I wrote above. Pathetic. Instead of justifiable anger and concern about the vulnerability of our grid and energy due to a host of failed policies along with the ineptitude of the Biden administration the media created a shiny object that does not mean a thing and the lemmings ran off the cliff.
In a sane world, Ted Cruz would not even be 1/1000th of this story and the Biden administration and green energy policy got a pass on accountability. We are losing because we allow them to create the narrative and we respond to it like Pavlov’s dog instead of justifiably mocking it and talking about the real problem.
No offense is intended, but I will quote Reagan: Trust, but verify.
I would like to have references for this information
As for Cruz
“yet we are hearing more about Ted Cruz’s dog ...”
Ted Cruz skipping town visibly no less during a hurricane level emergency was a bone headed, disgusting spectacle. He knew it would be. We KNOW there is a double standard. There are some of us who don’t whine about it but set to figuring out how to defeat them and for the very purpose of not having to see ourselves and iur neighbors freeze to death under their incompetency
People see ted Cruz’ activity as something to be accepted by the left The left is going to change and become fair. That’s not ever going to happen
Trump has nothing to do with Cruz. Saw him as someone too boneheaded to be associated with no doubt
I can't imagine that Abbott would abide by a ridiculous directive from the EPA while his people were freezing. If this actually did happen and he didn't immediately tell the EPA to shove it up their ass then he shouldn't be governor.
“On Sunday, Abbott sought and received a waiver from the U.S. Department of Energy that allows Texas power generators to increase production. Unfortunately, some of those generators are unable to increase production at this time because their operations have been frozen by weather conditions. They are working to get their power production back on line.”
This piece seems to be a direct contradiction to this...
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3936533/posts
You are completely correct, Abbott should have ordered all power plants to go to 100%, to hell with the EPA & Biden.
I would like to hear from Gov. Abbott why he didn’t protect the people of his state.
I agree. Texas should have ignored the order, except for preparing necessarily legal docs if they were to be sued.
I thought TX had it’s own independent grid.
Why the he!! do we need toe federal government's permission to do what is necessary to save lives?
The answer is cowardice. Political cowardice, the same thing that has been driving the ridiculous covid hysteria for the past year. We have no leaders, just cowards all hiding under their beds sucking their thumbs.
If this report is accurate then Abbott just needs to resign. I don’t say this flippantly. Good Grief! People died for God’s sake! With Biden/Harris in the Oval Office, we MUST have a governor with the cahonies to tell them to go pound sand! Maybe like a football coach, we can get De Santis over here in Texas.
What idiot obeyed that order? That the first one to find.
Thank you.
BTW the charge of $1,500 per MW-Hr that is mandated equated to $1.50 per Kw-hr. Normal cost for energy in Texas is .114 $/kw-hr, that is 13 times the standard rate.
No but he would happily send the EPA down to fine the state and companies into oblivion. Then he would send in the DOJ/FBI to criminality prosecute Texas officials and company officials for insurrection.
No need to involve the military.
“I need to research how the EPA controls power output.”
Let us know what you find out. I’d like to know why the EPA doesn’t allow capacity restrictions to be relaxed to handle emergency power demand.
It’s shocking news that Texas had the generating capacity to avoid the grid shutdown but weren’t allowed to use it.
And it’s puzzling why the EPA dictates weren’t given immediately as the explanation of the crisis.
The EPA knew what would happen when the waivers were rejected. They knew lives and homes would be destroyed - they knew Texas would be thrown into chaos.
That's what they wanted to happen.
Biden's thugs might be evil but they're NOT stupid.
(Oh, and the commies wouldn't have been called 'rebellion' it would have been called insurrection.)
I totally agree.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.