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Posted on 07/08/2025 9:23:03 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Following the winter storm in February 2021, all three members of the Public Utility Commission and six members of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas board of directors resigned. The CEO of ERCOT was also fired.
During the February 2021 winter storm, transmission companies inadvertently cut power to parts of the natural gas supply chain when ERCOT ordered the utilities to reduce power demand or risk further damage to the grid. That decision aggravated the problem as natural gas producers were unable to deliver enough fuel to power plants. At the same time, some wells were unable to produce as much natural gas due to the freezing conditions.
Because electricity relies on natural gas production and natural gas production relies on electricity, any failure in the loop breaks the entire system. At one point during February’s storm, more than half of the state’s natural gas supply was shut down due to power outages, frozen equipment and weather conditions.
The Texas Legislature in 2021 ordered electricity regulators to require power plants to better prepare for extreme weather. The Public Utility Commission has imposed some early requirements, such as requiring plants to winterize based on previous federal guidance, but lawmakers did not require the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the gas industry, to quickly impose weatherization standards.
…Voters decide who’s responsible for overseeing the power grid in Texas. The power plants that generate electricity, the wires that carry it to households, and the businesses and operators that manage it all fall under the purview of the governor. Most power plants run on natural gas, an industry that is regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission, a three-member board elected statewide.
(Excerpt) Read more at texastribune.org ...
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(ERCOT stands for Electric Reliability Council of Texas.)
That can't be right. They cut power to the natural gas compressors that fed gas-fired generation plants? Nobody is THAT stupid!
The key word there is inadvertently. So yes, someone was that stupid or had bad info/policy to follow.
“Hmmm...I wonder what happens if I push this big red button?”
**********
Probaly not much since it say “rotate red button”........
Bkmk
The Texas Tribune is a junk tabloid. I don’t trust anything they say.
Why are you posting anything from the leftist Texas Tribune, let alone something written 3 years ago? One might suspect you have a secret agenda.
I don’t know about cutting power to the Compressors most Natural Gas compressors run on NG not electricity, some do but most do not. Even though they had well freeze up most Natural Gas companies have access to under ground storage that can supplement their pipeline system in times of low volumes.
I remember hearing at the time that natural gas plants were only allowed to work at 85% capacity due to Fed environmental emission regulations.
So instead of responding to the content of the article, you decided it was best to attack the source and additionally cast aspersions on the poster.
Your username and caption imply that you are a Christian. The verse “Judgment comes first to the house of God.” applies here.
It’s ridiculous that a) be humble enough to accept critique and examination whatever the vessel our source and b) that conservatives don’t hold our own accountable.
Republicans are supposed to believe in states’ rights including tbe right to steward its own resources. The idea that wise spending and budgeting of our tax money would include priorities like disaster preparedness shouldn’t be a partisan one. A first world country shouldn’t have third world outcomes - especially in a state run by Republicans, many of them Christians.
Imagine if one of your loved ones needlessly perished.
typo: that we can’t be humble*
It’s an e-stop button lol. You push it to stop something, turn it to reset it.
Thank you so much for catching that too. It’s a very sort of Soviet style gaslighting tactic. And that poster, if a Christian (Presbyterian?) as his username implies, especially should know better. Self-examination and humility are Christian virtues. And so often the Scriptures speak about needing to be above reproach even by the standards of the sinful authorities of this world.
Electric motors are gaining traction, particularly in areas with reliable grid access or renewable energy integration (I.e., Texas). They’re more common in downstream (processing) or smaller-scale operations, offering higher efficiency (up to 95% for electric motors vs. 35–45% for gas turbines) and lower emissions when paired with clean power. Electrification is increasing in U.S. compressor stations, driven by environmental regulations and cost savings on maintenance. Electric motors account for 25–35% of compressors. Electric motors are growing due to decarbonization goals, with some operators retrofitting stations to reduce methane and CO2 emissions.
So cutting CO2 means “use electric motors to compress NG” and the system operator treated those motors like any other industrial load! It’s like cutting off your own air supply when you are running a race!
The push to Green Energy caused the TX power problem.
Most States buy power from others during an over usage excursion.
The way it was setup by non-engineers, it was impossible for TX to buy power from other states.
If you want to create a future problem, call a politician.
If you want it done correctly, call an engineer.
The same people who are responsible for the flash flood warnings, or the response to Uvalde.
And ERCOT is a nasty system that is an electric version of ENRON. And the Texas Repub whores sold out on solar and windmills for the tax breaks and killed their coal industry.
Back in the Reddy Kilowatt days of Texas Power and Light, there was no such thing as a blackout unless the storm blew down a line or something.
But after the pigs on Austin created the electric reliability council of Texas, electricity became expensive and in short supply.
ERCOT has board members from up north in Minnesota, and even has Germans on it. It just another globalist method of mining money from consumers.
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