Posted on 02/12/2011 10:01:48 AM PST by dragnet2
WICHITA FALLS — The electric grid operator for Texas is urging consumers and businesses are encouraged to reduce their electricity use during peak demand hours over the next few days from 6 – 9 a.m. and 4 – 8 p.m. to help reduce the risk of electricity emergencies or the need for rotating outages.
“The National Weather Service is anticipating severe cold weather statewide this week, as another arctic air mass is expected to reach deep into Texas, dropping temperatures back into the teens and twenties,” said Trip Doggett, CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
"In anticipation of this severe cold weather, ERCOT will procure additional generation capacity for real-time operations to help maintain reliable delivery of power during this extreme weather event over the next few days,” he said in a news release.
How much does it cost to power that huge ball?
They’re probably gearing everyone up for the big grid shut downs this coming summer...
Hopefully, they’ll at least warn the hospitals this time.
Unlike France which didn’t a few years ago and 20,000 seniors died because of heat related issues.
Screw ERCOT and the PUC
We need to get rid of ERCOT and the PUC and then let the free market distribute energy. While this crisis during the icestorm would have been much worse had we been fully regulated (we would have had long blackouts, not just brownouts) ERCOT really screwed the pooch on this one and gave the uneducated liberals a talking point on how deregulation failed, even though we’re not truly deregulated.
Please explain how ERCOT screwed the pooch on this one.
How much wind generation was lost due to the ice storms? That is a killer on ERCOT now. Those lignite/coal fired plants TxU was going to build are being missed now......
In just 20 short years, we've watched our borders turn into a violent lawless free for all, our standard of living, our infrastructure and economy nose dive into the ground, our foreign policies and free trade completely fail and a street level Communist from Chicago is now enjoying a cigarette and having a belly laugh up in the White House...
wow....
During the "70's oil "crisis" tankers ridin' low in the water were waiting offshore just out of sight.
Ask any old pilot who was flying low over the sea back then.
If you were a criminal that had perfected a criminal activity & you never got caught, why would you stop?
“gave the uneducated liberals a talking point on how deregulation failed, even though we’re not truly deregulated.”
I think that conservatives should use the blackouts as a lesson about the dangers of green energy, control of energy production by unaccountable individuals (environmentalists and politicians). The left somehow forced ERCOT to drop investments in new coal power plants and switch to wind power and far flung transmission lines.
We are on “Day-Ahead pricing”, a slight shift to the “Real-Time pricing” you’ve heard about.
Our family has learned to shift usage to cheaper times, and throughout the year, our bills are always cheaper. We run the air conditioner all night, then minimize it until prices reduce.
http://www.powersmartpricing.com
Pretty sad....
In just 20 short years, we’ve watched our borders turn into a violent lawless free for all, our standard of living, our infrastructure and economy nose dive into the ground, our foreign policies and free trade completely fail and a street level Communist from Chicago is now enjoying a cigarette and having a belly laugh up in the White House...
wow....
Spot on. Damn!
Many companies and the government has perfected the art of ripping people off.
The government has made it into a science and mastered it.
One thing I’m confused by....in the summer Texas sells electricity to California and other states. Why can’t they buy it from them during these winter problems? Also have they released numbers re the amount of electricity used? I would seem difficult to use more at 15 degrees in Feb than 110 in August......with every AC compressor in the state running hard.
Thereby charging more for less.
Sounds like your describing the new American work place:
"Work full time at part time wages"
***One thing I’m confused by....in the summer Texas sells electricity to California and other states. Why can’t they buy it from them during these winter problems? ****
Here is the problem ERCOT is a power pool strictly withing TEXAS. If it crossed state lines with connections to other power pools the the US Government could regulate it. ERCOT has been designed so as NOT to be able to connect to outside sources, except Mexico.
Some other companies within Texas are not connected to ERCOT and do have connections to outside state sources for power.
They just need to weather proof some of those power plants & add more natural gas generation power plants that can be on standby. Of course the EPA will need to step aside for a little bit they are really causing a lot of pain with the green house gases, they have us going out and getting the BTU rating on stoves at our offices...lol
Amen! I work for one and thankfully for the patients in surgery and on life support the back up system performed flawlessly.
I don’t know what they are talking about with this new front. The Weather Channel is forecasting temperatures in the 60’s-70’s for central Texas over the next ten days. Maybe the Panhandle?
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