Power Grid Taxed, Rolling Blackouts Ordered [Texas]

NBC 5 DFW ^ | 02/02/2011 | Staff

[BuckeyeTexan]

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has ordered utilities to begin rotating outages to compensate for a generation shortage due high usage in extreme weather. Rotating outages are controlled, temporary interruptions of service designed to ease the load on the electric grid.  To see recent reports on the grid load, click here.

The outages last anywhere from 10-45 minutes and the locations and durations are determined by the local utilities.

Critical need customers such as hospitals and nursing homes are generally not included It is not known at this time how long the need for rotating outages will last.

Consumers and businesses are urged to reduce their electricity use to the lowest level possible, including these steps:

• Limit electricity usage to only that consumption which is absolutely necessary. Turn off all unnecessary lights, appliances and electronic equipment.
• Businesses should minimize the use of electric lighting and electricity-consuming equipment as much as possible.
• Large consumers of electricity should consider shutting down or reducing non-essential production processes.

[wita]

I’m on a rural electric coop - Touchstone Energy.

Same here we get ours from a lot of different locations, but in addition there are a lot of peak turbine units able to be fired up long distance, as in no one on site, to cover difficult times. Start up to on line time is quick.

[wita]

I’m on a rural electric coop - Touchstone Energy.

Same here we get ours from a lot of different locations, but in addition there are a lot of peak turbine units able to be fired up long distance, as in no one on site, to cover difficult times. Start up to on line time is quick.

[Milton Miteybad]

Dont Texans brag about having their ‘own grid’ and how immune they are from such events? L O L


You're no doubt thanking your lucky stars Texas its own grid. (Well, if you like having heat in the winter and AC in the summer, that is.)

If Texas was interconnected with either the Eastern or Western Grids, with the current electric demand down here, we'd have taken either or both down by now.

[tbw2]

Commanche Peak, the newest nuclear plant in the US (at only 20 years) has 2 reactors in Glenn Rose, Texas. They have tried for years to get permission to build 2 more. The funding got cut last month, even though they had permission to build.

No new solar because it hurts birds, wind projects interfered with for land use arguments, can't drill in much of the Barnett Shale for gas because of NIMBY. The liberals WANT us to be in cold and the dark.

[tbw2]

We (in Texas) cannot allow everyone in the U.S. coming for jobs AND everyone from Mexico in and then refuse to build new power plants.

[freekitty]

What is 4F

[Wonder Warthog]

"This is what the “Smart Grid” being developed under the auspices of NIST per Congress is intended to prevent."

Our local utility (Washington state) is taking a slightly different tack. Instead of "smart-gridding" the whole house, they ask you to install a controller on your hot-water heater. I'd be fine with having that shut down during power shortages. That seems more logical than the "whole-house" route.

[Republic of Texas]

Happening here in Dallas every hour or so.

[nascarnation]

And that’s hardly a new idea.
We’ve had the electric water heater control in Indiana for 25 yrs.

[Republic of Texas]

Nope. My car won’t start right now, and I’m sure many are in the same boat. My battery is fine, it’s just 8 degrees.

[nascarnation]

bummer

up north here we expect faultless starts at least to -20F

with fuel injected computer controlled cars and 5W-XX oils that’s usually not a problem at all

[Arrowhead1952]

4º Fahrenheit is what I meant. That was the lowest temp I ever saw in Austin TX.

[The Great RJ]

Could this have anything to do with Texas being overly dependent on wind turbines to generate electricity? In February 2008 rolling blackouts were narrowly averted in Texas when a weather front idled most of the states wind turbines. Wind turbines cannot adequately meet peak needs as enough winds may not be blowing when there is high demand.

[ViLaLuz]

“Have your neighbors wash the dog in a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and dish soap. Do a search for the recipe. BTDT and it helps a lot.”

LOL—Wrong thread? But by any chance, is this a deodorizing shampoo for a dog?

[Nobel_1]

http://www.sourcewatch.org boasts of the following cancelled coal fired plants in Texas:

Cancelled:
Big Brown 3
Lake Creek 3
La Porte IGCC Plant
Martin Lake 4
Monticello 4
Morgan Creek 3 & 4
Morgan Creek 7
Nueces IGCC Plant
Tradinghouse 3 & 4
Twin Oaks Power Unit 3
TXE Industrial Gasification Facility
Valley 4

Reliable baseload can only be generated from nuclear, coal, geothermal, natural gas and hydroelectric dams. Wind and solar should only be allowed on the grid when they are coupled to energy storage solutions (like compressed air caverns or large potential energy dams / pumped hydro). Power then actually is generated from the stored energy in a consistent, reliable manner.

See problems with wind at http://www.aweo.org/problemwithwind.html ... BTW, make sure your house is at least 2 miles from any wind farm (12 miles is better).

Remember, this is YOUR tax dollars at work ... the US Gov gives money to enviro groups so they can turn around and sue to stop power generation projects. Having a blackout in Texas today? Blame it ALL on the enviros ...

[nascarnation]

From what I’ve read, no peak load capabilities even include wind power, because of inconsistent output.

As a matter of interest, Machine Design (an engineering trade pub) has run analyses showing that wind turbines may actually produce NO net power at all when the entire system is analyzed.

[freekitty]

Whoa. That’s cold. Just had our 3rd rolling blackout here in Houston in a matter of 3 hours.

[PAR35]

That must be why my power went out this morning without warning.

[TribalPrincess2U]

I heard windmills don’t work in cold weather.

I heard that ‘electric car’ batteries run down fast too
so don’t get stranded.

[Nobel_1]

RE: wind power is inconsistent

Good point ... allow me to embellish

WSJ: One grievance (against wind power): Coal, nuclear and gas operators must pay for their own backup if an operational or maintenance problem prevents them from delivering power as promised. But if wind generators fail to deliver promised power because the wind doesn’t blow, the cost of backing up wind power companies is spread among all the generators, state officials say. This puts an unfair burden on nonwind generators, says the gas faction.

“My philosophy is that whoever causes the problem should be responsible for fixing the problem,” says Kevin Howell, president of Texas operations with NRG Energy Inc., the state’s second-largest power provider. “Wind shouldn’t cause problems that other people have to fix.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704188104575083982637451248.html

Net, net: Wind power is being built at the expense of coal power and natural gas power generation in Texas. Which is why Texas has rolling blackouts today.