Posted on 02/14/2021 1:55:46 PM PST by george76
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas emphasized the need for people to reduce energy use...
As temperatures dropped to near-record lows Sunday, electricity operators warned that demand could overwhelm the state’s power grid and force rotating power outages.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state’s power grid, emphasized the need for Texans to reduce energy consumption.
“We are experiencing record-breaking electric demand due to the extreme cold temperatures that have gripped Texas ... At the same time, we are dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines
...
If power reserves fell too much, an energy emergency alert might be necessary, allowing ERCOT to implement rotating power outages to save energy.
....
The Public Utility Commission of Texas urged Texans turn their thermostats down to 68 degrees or lower, close shades and blinds to cut down on the amount of heat loss through windows, turn off and unplug non-essentials appliances and lighting, and avoid using large appliances such as washers and dryers.
“The lowest temperatures Texas has seen in decades necessitate a shared response across the state, from households to factories,” PUC chair DeAnn Walker said in a written statement. “Along with the tools ERCOT uses to maintain the reliability of the grid, common-sense conservation also plays a critical role in our state’s endurance of this challenge.”
The water heater temperature should also be lowered, Atmos Energy reminded folks in a tip-sheet published Saturday. Up to 25 percent of energy consumed in the home can come from the water heater, according to the Dallas-based utility company. The maximum temperature should be at 120 degrees
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
WOW! What’s your fixed rate, $0.12/kWh or so?
I’m not in Texas.. And I have a generator if needed. Just pointing out the hypocrisy...
If the 5 bedroom houses were heated by natural gas, we wouldn’t have this problem in the winter.
It is an electric heat problem. In Texas, electric heat is butt stupid.
Mine is $0.085 KWH fixed in DFW, but this event could bankrupt some providers if it keeps up.
The second year of Powertochoose my fixed selection went belly up in the middle of summer. That sucked. I had a $600 bill one month when I was cast into the open market in July.
I only renew in Spring/Fall now.
Wow, that’s cheap. Is that power only, and you’ve got a meter/transmission/distribution charge on top of that?
I just looked at my most recent bill and I was $0.1127/kWh all in, bottom line dollars / kWHs. Georgia Power.
I had power until 10am. I blame rotating blackouts.
No physical damage occurring at this time. Rain wind and snow are stopped and have been since before 7am
These are the people who want you to charge up a car several times a day.
No. The Left only wants Iran to use nuclear energy, no No Nukes protests against Iran.
Leftists like people out in the cold or left in the dark.
Elon Musk: Electric Vehicles will Double Electricity Demand,
How much energy can we save if we just shut iff all power to Austin for a week?
Global warming was solved
Now we suffer from arctic blasts
I find this rather interesting.
Thought Texas had a better energy system. Heck, a lot of Nat gas comes from there.
-6 in Iowa, It sucks. A lot, but we are OK.
Buddy in Austin is freezing today. No power, no gas for heat, and now no water. In California this is the norm, but in Texas?
Our civilization is collapsing faster than I thought.
A week? How ‘bout forever? Does forever sound about right?
Northern turbines do have deicing capability.
At some point, they don’t put them in.
Many northern states keep the same number of generation stations on line even with renewable sources because, well you need heat.
Guess not in Texas. Which rarely gets weather like this.
But I do wonder how they handle summer.
We build for it up here.
Two years ago had a week of -20 weather.
Some suggestions
Put blankets over large window. I would suspect your windows are leaching heat. With the bad freeze we have, I put saddle blankets over all my windows. Even with good glass, they still are a source of heat loss
Be careful about turning water off at the meter. If you line not deep enough, it can freeze behind your shut off. I have my water system set up with valves to block off individual sections of the house. Last major ice storm I kept one faucet down stairs dripping all night.
One trick we did on the farm years ago is have everyone bunk in one room at night. Body heat will heat up the room a bit. We would “heat” barns with body heat at times.
And now you know why the Midwest eats!
Thanks, I’ll tell Hub about the cutoff at the street for our city water which we don’t have right now because the dumb butts at City Hall didn’t have a backup generator for the water but I’m glad we have a bathtub full and a full hot tub and we have drinking water delivered so we’re fine and we also have a generator......folks out her have neither. Pray they get relief.......
Half of Texas Wind Turbines Freeze, Hurting Electricity Output
How long a sector of the San Angelo power grid is offline is not available. AEP estimates that 95 percent of the power outage issue in San Angelo is due to the ERCOT mandates. There are some physical outages, but not many, and crews are working to bring those lines back up.
https://sanangelolive.com/news/san-angelo/2021-02-15/power-outages-leave-many-san-angelo-cold
Texas wholesale electric prices spike more than 10,000% amid outages .. more than $9,000 per megawatt hour late Monday morning, compared with pre-storm prices of less than $50 per megawatt hour, according to ERCOT data. .
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