Posted on 02/06/2011 10:18:30 AM PST by dragnet2
Forget all the concern about al Qaeda terrorists using explosions to take out our power grid or foreign hackers disabling it from afar - in Texas a cold front can apparently do the job.
As the lights flickered and went dark across Texas on Wednesday in response to a state-mandated rolling blackout plan, Lt. Governor David Dewhurst was clearly irritated.
He wasn't the only one.
"This should not happen," Dewhurst told reporters on Wednesday.
Dewhurst said that cold weather knocked 50 of the 550 power plants in Texas offline. That, coupled with increased demand, turned out the lights.
"Lack of adequate winterization and preparation appear to be a major cause of the outages," Dewhurst said.
The plant managers and the parent companies might want to make a note in their day planners for next year - "WINTER CAN BE COLD!"
The fact that we weren't properly prepared for it - and because of that computers and equipment all over the state came to a screeching halt - is simply inexcusable.
(Excerpt) Read more at seguingazette.com ...
I am in Houston and my brother is in Fort Worth. It’s irritating because you have to pull the plug on everything. Anything happens here in Houston, it hits my place first. LOL And what’s more irritating is I must be the center location for everybody. There is always a steady stream of utility people coming in and out. Just ha a new water heater installed only to fins out there was no gas. For some reason they cut me off in error. got a letter the very same day apologizing and they sent someone out immediately. Then there is the water company. Didn’t send me a bill for 6 months. Never cut my water off or anything. Finally got a 500.00 bill. Amazing how incompetent these people are. I was to the point of crying; etc. They just made fun of me literally. Being the good corporate secretary I used to be; I went to the top. Got that straightened out pronto.
Agreed. And, it only got up to 67 today.
Good news! No permanent freeze damage for the grove on the family farm in the valley. We did lose some fruit but they’ll be back next year! Woo-Hoo!
Hope you guys can avoid this.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
More Harsh Cold Coming
More cold air will come down the pike next week, and there may be another whopper of a snowstorm.
This winter just won't quit. Arctic regions are already busy manufacturing another big batch of bitter air which will advance southward into the United States next week. As it has so many times this winter, the coldest weather will target the central and eastern part of the country, while the Southwest remains dry and mild.
The Upper Midwest can expect temperatures from 10 to 20 below zero Monday night, and the cold air will be felt as far south as Texas all the way to the East Coast.
I've got a tangerine tree in Corpus Christi that seems to have survived. In December 1983 I had a tangerine tree that grew from a stray seed and had just grown its first fruit, when temperatures in the teens killed it.
Texas had to get power from Mexico at one point. They really won’t live that one down.
We’ve got valencia and marrs navel oranges. Ruby
Red grapefruit. A few limes and tangerines, one fig tree, a few grape vines and one 30 ft. avocado tree.
And it would be nice if regulators allowed the utilities to build more power plants.So you don't see the fallacy in your "deregulation" (not a question).
Oh no! You've hurt our feelings.
" Mexico — which had originally agreed to supplement 280 megawatts of electricity to South Texas — rescinded that offer Thursday. The Associated Press reported Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission wanted to guarantee it could satisfy its own citizens’ needs, especially after the arctic blast dropped snow in Ciudad Juarez."
Somehow we Texicans made it through. Thanks for your kind support. Bless your heart.
Thanks, and me too.
Glad to see that the Lt. Governor feels the same way I felt about it, it was inexusable.
Exactly correct, there were a bunch of those on FR who claimed that no one was at fault and that we should just sit back and accept it.
That is the attitude of those who live in banana republics, not free nations.
The failure was not due to the weather, it was due to incompetence.
Yep, and there was just a comment on another threat that stated:
It does *not* matter the singer screwed up our National Anthem with the wrong lyrics (In front of the entire country)....I kid you not.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2669583/posts?page=85
With your view, we will be back in the 19th century, while the Government claims they can't do any better.
All I know is our local radio news here in NM said TX had to get power from Mexico...and I immediately thought- oops they won’t live that down. If it is not true you may still stand tall.
They need to make whatever preparations are necessary to ensure they have the necessary power.
Your view is the same as those who rationalized at New Orleans not preparing the levee's for a level 5 hurricane since they happen so infrequently.
Thank you ma’am. I lived in New Mexico for 7 years myself. 2 years in Las Vegas and 5 in Albuquerque. I’m in Kerrville now. ;o)
Let’s change that to “Failure is an option”.
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