Facing High Demand, Texas Asks 26 Million to Use Less Electricity This Weekend (cnn.com) 240
Friday a heat wave hit Texas — prompting the non-profit that manages power for Texas's 26 million customers to...ask them to use less of it.
"The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) made the appeal in a statement Friday, saying that soaring temperatures increased demand and caused six power generation facilities to trip offline," reports CNN. "That resulted in the loss of about 2,900 megawatts of electricity."
The statement asks Texans "to conserve power when they can by setting their thermostats to 78-degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances (such as dishwashers, washers and dryers) during peak hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. through the weekend." CNN reports: The appeal comes as record temperatures across most of the southern U.S. this weekend are expected to worsen a deepening drought. From Phoenix to Amarillo, Texas, record temperatures are expected to reach triple digits, with a chance for some parts of Texas to break daily records over the next seven days.
ERCOT came under scrutiny last year after record cold temperatures in February caused the state's highest electricity demand and more than 200 people died during the power crisis, with the most common cause of death being hypothermia. In March 2021, ERCOT's president and CEO, Bill Magness, was fired following widespread power outages during a series of winter storms that left many residents in the dark for days. Now the heat is testing Texas' power grid....
Temperatures from the mid-90s to the low 100s are expected on Sunday, with much of central and western Texas reaching 100 to 105 degrees — approximately 10 to 15 degrees above average.
"The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) made the appeal in a statement Friday, saying that soaring temperatures increased demand and caused six power generation facilities to trip offline," reports CNN. "That resulted in the loss of about 2,900 megawatts of electricity."
The statement asks Texans "to conserve power when they can by setting their thermostats to 78-degrees or above and avoiding the usage of large appliances (such as dishwashers, washers and dryers) during peak hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. through the weekend." CNN reports: The appeal comes as record temperatures across most of the southern U.S. this weekend are expected to worsen a deepening drought. From Phoenix to Amarillo, Texas, record temperatures are expected to reach triple digits, with a chance for some parts of Texas to break daily records over the next seven days.
ERCOT came under scrutiny last year after record cold temperatures in February caused the state's highest electricity demand and more than 200 people died during the power crisis, with the most common cause of death being hypothermia. In March 2021, ERCOT's president and CEO, Bill Magness, was fired following widespread power outages during a series of winter storms that left many residents in the dark for days. Now the heat is testing Texas' power grid....
Temperatures from the mid-90s to the low 100s are expected on Sunday, with much of central and western Texas reaching 100 to 105 degrees — approximately 10 to 15 degrees above average.
No abortion. (Score:4, Funny)
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unprepared (Score:5, Insightful)
that's the normal texas weather for the summer. once again ercot is unprepared. texas needs to be connected to the national grid to solve this problem
Re:unprepared (Score:5, Funny)
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It's not even cheaper :P
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s/cheaper/more profitable
My mistake.
It's cheaper to maintain (Score:2)
Re:unprepared (Score:4, Interesting)
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Just so you know, TX is connected. You can see the power flows real time at their website. I routinely see about 1GW flowing between the 4 tie points.
That is not factually true. There are parts of Texas that are connected to the national grid; however, those parts are not connected to the Texas grid. Texas on the whole is not connected.
Re:unprepared (Score:4, Informative)
Re: unprepared (Score:2)
Re: unprepared (Score:2)
Re:unprepared (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:unprepared (Score:5, Interesting)
I live in SoCal. Where I am, we don't have rolling blackouts, because our utility is actually publicly-owned (we get refund checks at the end of the year, every year) and responsibly-managed. The only time I lose power, it's because of some idiot going too fucking fast in the neighborhood and hitting a power pole.
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we get refund checks at the end of the year, every year
That just means the electric company over-charges you every year, and by law has to refund the over-charge back to you.
Its not terrible, but if it happens year after year, why not adjust the prices to accurately reflect the cost of production/distribution?
Let me guess, the Utility executives act surprised every year, and want you to applaud them for giving you back some of your own money? I used to live in New Jersey, and every October we'd get a $1,500 "Homestead Rebate" check from the state, just in time
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Let me guess, the Utility executives act surprised every year, and want you to applaud them for giving you back some of your own money? I used to live in New Jersey, and every October we'd get a $1,500 "Homestead Rebate" check from the state, just in time to influence the upcoming election... Most New Jersey residents understand the situation and realize we are just getting our own money back...
Yep. Most people are stupid. They think the check they get from the IRS in April is the government giving them money. Unfortunately, they vote. Keeping this stupidity is worth it if it keeps the electricity flowing.
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California has had a few rolling blackout warnings, but very few have actually materialized. Usually they happen with a transmission line down and impact a single region. The shutdowns for fire risk are a different (equally inexcusable) problem.
But, what both California, Texas, and most of the country really need to do is establish policies (again) that increase deployment of residential solar plus battery systems. A fairly modest 6kW system with a 5kWh battery (double it for Texas... because Texas) on a
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Re: unprepared (Score:3, Interesting)
Texas would be just fine if Californians would stop moving here. The massive increase in population as people abandon California and other states is the root of the increasing problems with the Texas power grid.
If only we could somehow keep Californians in California. Maybe some kind of wall?
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FWIW, every time I've ever been in Texas, the only thing I've looked for is the way out, so I guess we're in agreement here.
Incidentally, I see your sig and raise you mine.
Re:unprepared (Score:4, Insightful)
I have yet to see one a texas power company start a wildfire and destroy countless thousands of acres in Texas.
The socially-responsible, high-tech, "got their shit together" California Power Company has started more than their fair-share of wildfires in California. I have no problem with "turn up your thermostat this weekend" advisories, wildfires on the other hand...
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As a texan, I can forgive texas for the 1/114 year freeze. But not being ready for summer heat (even if it is a few weeks early) is a problem.
Except it was not 114 years. 10 years earlier, Texas had a major freeze that nearly brought the grid down. One of the recommendations was to winterize operations; however, being Texas they would never order companies to do so. A regulation is an abomination in Texas no matter how sensible.
Re:unprepared (Score:4, Insightful)
ERCOT Renamed EUCOT (Score:2)
ERCOT Renamed EUCOT
"Electrical Unreliability Council Of Texas"
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What part of
"Temperatures from the mid-90s to the low 100s are expected on Sunday, with much of central and western Texas reaching 100 to 105 degrees — approximately 10 to 15 degrees above average."
did you fail to understand?
Just remember (Score:2)
The governor sued the feds over having to connect to the national grid. Good luck on your bootstrap power.
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Why don't you go look that up? You might be surprised as to what the actual reasons are.
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California doesn't need an excuse. California never insisted on its own power grid independent of Federal oversight.
I like things the way they are. It's a shame Texas' infrastructure can't be joined to either of the US grids - it simply doesn't meet Federal standards. Texas has been running things their own way, regulating energy at the State level - I'd say it's time Texans vote out their current government and elect someone competent.
Re:Just remember (Score:5, Insightful)
In Texas, as in many red states, the urban areas are blue and they would very much like to elect someone competent. But the ruling GOP has gerrymandered the state into oblivion and that's why they do and will hold the majority of all three branches of government.
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The rural countryside of Texas is full of dead little farming towns where the few remaining people live in poverty. Urban areas in Texas are full of educated people with good jobs. People from out of state didn't move there for no reason, and they aren't there for a handout. No wonder the GOP has heavily (and arguably illegally) gerrymandered the districts in an attempt to sustain minority rule.
Meanwhile, staying on topic, you'll notice that the nutjob GOP governor and his hard-right legislature has once ag
For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:4, Insightful)
Do you really think the elites would pay the taxes for you to have power if they weren't forced too? How much richer would Mr M and Mr B be if all the money spent on your appliances went into their pockets? You think that though hasn't crossed their minds? You think they haven't discussed it with at least some of these governors?
Apple Computer and Tesla showed that the real money is in selling luxury goods to a handful of consumers. Right now there's a baby formula shortage because there's 3 companies that made all of it, and it wasn't profitable enough for them to bother upgrading their equipment to maintain production.
Seriously, please stop fucking that chicken. It's 2022, we know better [twitter.com]
Re:For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:4, Insightful)
Correct. It's not a Texas thing, it's a Republican thing. Texas can solve this by getting rid of Republican rule. Texas has the worst access to voting in the nation.
Also, this is not like the February cold wave. That weather was unprecedented, this hot weather is common for Texas.
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did not say Texans do not have access, I said they have worse access than the other states.
Re: For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:2)
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Without voter suppression, it would have happened already. Texas is a minority rule state.
But yes, "not likely to happen any time soon" is what Republicans hope for. It's anti-democratic, but that's their plan.
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When your only two options are two horrible parties, you probably should rely more on what you can do instead of waiting the government to do anything for you.
The "easiest" path in this specific problem is just get yourself a solar panel setup.
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Try doing something yourself but ONE party is in bed with big biz and turns all that regulatory power that is supposed to keep big biz from screwing everybody after YOU!
My wind/solar have way too many BS obstacles put in my way. The system is bipolar because of flip flopping between two parties and ONE is at best the "bad cop" but usually is just a bad guy... one who rails against crime to distract from their behavior.
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You know, that's actually a testament to the quality of all three power grids in the United States. They have made 'utility' (in this case, 'electricity') something that just is. There's a plug in the wall. Pay the bill and stuff you plug in works. Period. The sun'll rise tomorrow. Water will still be wet. I'll be able to cook tomorrow morning by turning a knob, no need to chop wood or build a fire.
The fact that this (incipient Texas energy shortages) is big news tells me that Texas has done pretty
Have to correct myself: (Score:3)
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Texas' grid is physically large enough to justify keeping it isolated
Germany's grid is big too, and it has a bigger population than Texas. It's interconnected, though.
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attaching Texas to the other two grids should require Texas to bring their systems up to Federal standard first, by which time there will be little if anything to gain by spending the money to provide the physical connections needed.
I don't think that's accurate. If you get the connections up then you can sell power if you have an excess, and there's other states that need power, and Texas' debt is substantial... almost as big as California's surplus :D
Just to be clear (Score:3)
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The GOP has no leaders. Donald Trump is currently the de-facto leader of the party despite being a loser because everyone is too afraid to challenge him. Mitt Romney and Dick Cheney's daughter are the moral anchors. Yeah.
The GOP has no platform. Aside from "tax cuts for rich people" and "bomb brown people", the GOP has had zero legislative successes in 20 years. They couldn't even kill Obamacare despite having the votes. When was the last time the GOP talked about actually governing?
The GOP has no prin
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Re: For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:5, Informative)
Which state has had more republican govenors. Texas or California?
When you look it up most of California issues came about because of policies setup during their many republican govenors.
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Unlike Texas, everyone who has any money is willing to pay in order to own even an 1800 ft^2 plot of said California.
Texas has a homeless burden as well, but they solve it by dumping people on grayhound busses headed to CA.
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California is planning to use their massive budget surplus to combat the problem actually.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/po... [sfchronicle.com]
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"California is planning to use their massive budget surplus to combat the problem actually."
California is ALWAYS planning to combat X with tons of cash (either from voter tax bonds, increases in taxes or "massive surpluses".
The problems get worse.
We approved a bond in 2014 to increase our reservoir capacity. Not one pebble has been moved and much of those funds have already been spent. And "OH" We still have well over 20 years paying back that particular bond. Well over $7 billion + interest has mostly
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Its why I said before that SOME things like utilities should be a co-op (a public/private joint venture in which it operates like a private firm (or in there case a Investor owned utility), but the state actually has th
Re:For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:5, Informative)
Because it worked so well for California? Richest state in the union with the highest rate of poverty. 40k+ unsheltered homeless literally living in the streets in just LA alone.
18% of California's homeless say they come from other states. So of those 40k people, 7,200 of them are transplants who moved here because their own states didn't care for them. When you consider that California is the most populous state, and the fact that not all the homeless come here (they also go to Florida and other warm states where they can expect not to freeze in the winter) that adds up to a disproportionate percentage of people in other states becoming homeless — and knowing that they will probably die in short order if they stay at home.
We do however have a severe housing crisis in California. Some of the same stuff is happening across the nation, although usually to lesser degrees because California is the most desirable state to own property in. The big corporations are buying up the good houses everywhere and turning them into and rentals, airbnbs have severely reduced the supply of available housing. California has the additional problem that over 89,000 structures have been destroyed by fire since 2005. This is a problem that is coming to much of the rest of the country, however.
Just wait until our unfunded liabilities come due...
Yes, as a nation. What you're seeing in California now you'll be seeing everywhere soon enough. And then there will be the water refugees...
Most of the homeless moving to California (Score:2)
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Most of the homeless in California became homeless in California, so that is probably true. The 19% figure is people who moved here after they became homeless. They may well have moved here looking for work, but you'd naturally pick a state with some kind of safety net for the homeless if you were already homeless, and desperate enough to travel to another state to find work.
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"Most of the homeless in California became homeless in California, so that is probably true."
While that's true, it's grossly misleading. About 30% of unsheltered homeless in LA alone were homeless before coming to LA (the largest population of unsheltered homeless in the nation -- larger than almost every other states total homeless populations (including unsheltered)). That tops out well north of 40k unsheltered homeless.
Tha'ts about 12k-14k of unsheltered homeless folks that came here already homeless.
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Ya, I can't imagine Texas dealing with a housing price problem by instituting rent control. Texas has problems with homelessness too, and after a period of decline it has been going up since 2017.
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Yes, as the second most populous state and another one where you can survive winter outside, Texas is another prime candidate for a homeless crisis. Property taxes have been skyrocketing in some counties of late and that alone is making housing unaffordable for many. Since Texas doesn't have state income taxes, they have to pay for everything with property taxes, and they have relaxed their controls on those in order to produce more revenue.
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"Yes, as the second most populous state and another one where you can survive winter outside,"
CA has more deaths from exposure amongst the homeless than NY does. Because CA is doing it wrong. Period. You have a better shot surviving being homeless in NYC than you do in Los Angeles.
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From Dallas down as far as Houston, winter temperatures of 19-32 happen 50 days a year, approximately, and homeless people caught in the prairie winds DIE of this.
This is going to blow your mind, but we have below freezing temperatures in California, too. I know, it's stunning to think that a state which covers a lot of latitudes also covers a lot of climates, but there it is.
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" Texas has problems with homelessness too,"
And it's nothing like CA. What are their unsheltered homeless numbers? Los Angeles alone is north of 40k. They have less than 30k homeless state wide.
Let that sink in. Los Angeles, with a total population 1/3 of the Texas population has a population of unsheltered homeless that are 3x the number of total homeless in the entire state of Texas (sheltered or otherwise).
To ad insult to injury, NYC has more total homeless than Los Angeles along -- but they actually
You're not a Republican (Score:2)
And what does libertarianism mean? Not having to put your girlfriend in a car seat. God bless Rand Paul.
Re:For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:5, Informative)
sure, i’ll bite that #whatabout.. california’s electricity prices were doing just fine until REPUBLICAN PETE WILSON signed legislation deregulating the market. many utility companies jumped at the chance to sell their power plants so they could uncap price controls. it ended badly as the folks who bought the plants immediately shut them down during a heat wave to create scarcity and jack up prices. the utilities basically had to give the money back and ended up with nothing but one-time executive bonuses.
if you’re going to whatabout, at least pick a scenario that works for your argument.
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"40k+ unsheltered homeless literally living in the streets in just LA alone."
A massive chunk of those having been bused in from other states. Try again.
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Homelessness is a problem the world over. The Good Ole Boys in Tennessee have made it illegal. They'll send you to jail.
So... take your pick. Have a tent city or have the taxpayers fund their stay in jail (for years)?
Please tell us what you would like?
No doubt some Rep State will soon legislate the return of the Workhouse. "Hard times" ahead.
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Re: For Christ's sake stop voting Republican (Score:2)
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Do you live in CA? Did you prior to Schwarzenegger Governorship? We recalled Davis for what you are ascribing to Schwarzenegger.
"California has a budget surplus"
Funny how that surplus vanishes when you include both unfunded liabilities and the EDD monies CA needs to repay to the fed.
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"Otherwise you have zero respect from me."
From you, a poster that modeled his name after another to sow confusion. Your respect means so much to all of us.
How about Crypto miners (Score:5, Insightful)
How about asking Crypto miners to stop for a while? After all Texas is now going all in, into crypto now, right?
I assume the other industries there, like the Tesla factory, etc, will have more value for the state then the crypto miners now.
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Lol, Tesla can use batteries to keep the plant running during the blackouts.
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Re:How about Crypto miners (Score:4, Insightful)
No, not "many". A handful.
Most look like the Compute North datacenter in Granbury or the monstrosity in Rockdale, both of which are connected to the grid and are way too big to be powered off flared gas.
And, if these companies are setting up near fracking wells (most are as they produce the higher amounts of flared methane) then they're in for a nasty surprise as the production horizon of fracking wells drops off precipitously after 6 - 8 months. By the end of the 1st year the well must either be re-perforated or shut down due to poor production.
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How about asking Crypto miners to stop for a while? After all Texas is now going all in, into crypto now, right?
I assume the other industries there, like the Tesla factory, etc, will have more value for the state then the crypto miners now.
Better yet, pass legislation that commercial-scale crypto mining can only use excess grid power from solar, wind, and nuclear.
That might help solve one of the problems of nuclear (slow ramp time), since they can quickly ramp mining demand to consume excess power from the nukes without having to turn them off/down.
For solar and wind, it would encourage/fund building excess capacity that can again quickly be freed up by stopping mining.
Gee (Score:2)
Gee, whoever would have thought that you would have to design power plants to be able to sustain high temperatures in Texas?
What a bag of absolute chucklefucks.
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"Gee, whoever would have thought that you would have to design power plants to be able to sustain high temperatures in Texas?"
Temps in Texas are not unusual and literally everyone in Texas has understood this longer than any of us has been alive. Your high school snark is misplaced.
"What a bag of absolute chucklefucks."
No, it is corporate greed combined with Republican politics. They aren't stupid, they're goals are simply not aligned with reasonably thinking people.
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"Gee, whoever would have thought that you would have to design power plants to be able to sustain high temperatures in Texas?"
Temps in Texas are not unusual
Yeah, that was the basis of my comment. Good catch, tiger!
and literally everyone in Texas has understood this longer than any of us has been alive.
It's literally impossible to understand it for longer than you've been alive, sport.
They aren't stupid, they're goals are simply not aligned with reasonably thinking people.
Can't sell power when you're not generating power. I thought they were in the business of selling power?
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design power plants to be able to sustain high temperatures
They could air condition them.
I'm sure they'll blame Solar for this (Score:5, Insightful)
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I must admit that it's rather entertaining to watch this positive feedback loop of "electrical system failure/blame renewables/elect even shittier conservatives who neglect and sabotage the system even harder/repeat" that Texas is willfully holding itself in, there was once a comedy article that joked that Sarah Palin would "uninvent electricity" but Texas conservatives might actually pull it off with their state grid at this rate! XD
Conservatives are pretty good at both tolerating and deflecting blame for
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Based on Texas's past rhetoric, I'd say they'll probably try to blame the Solar and Wind industries for the outages instead of the poor management of their grid.
Of course they are. What’s causing the heat? The sun. What drives solar? The sun. What moves hot air around? The wind. Who supports them? DEMOCRATS. It’s Biden’s fault.
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I'm halfway surprised they didn't blame solar and wind for making them stub their big toe.
Keep bragging about cheap power Texas! (Score:2)
Because you get what you pay for. In this case the grid supply can't handle the max demand
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Their grid is a classic example of cronyism. The utilities commission are all friends with politicians and the body has no real power. They can only recommend changes or upgrades, not mandate them. Like with the once in a century ice storms that happened in 2021, 2011, 1988, etc etc.
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I can't imagine that the populace would be happy about rate hikes either
Not a problem! (Score:2)
Average it in with the 2021 winter storm, and everything works out to be average.
Tesla Notified Drivers (Score:3)
https://electrek.co/2022/05/14... [electrek.co]
Tesla advised drivers to avoid charging at times of peak demand to reduce the strain on the grid. Most EV drivers charge at night anway, though, so EVs shouldn't be a significant factor in the current shortage.
Right wing myths (Score:5, Insightful)
They try to act like life is hell in democrat states, but it isn't,. For example, if you look at the top 10 highest violent crime states, 7 of them are Republican run. The right wing pushes the narrative that DeSantis (who is hoping Trump chooses him for VP in 2024) made Florida safe, but Florida has a higher murder rate than California even though it is full of old people.
They claim California is broke, but we had the highest budget surplus by far of any state. California is richer and safer than Florida or Texas, yet Repblicans want us to think California is a hellhole, while Florida is a paradise. Fuck you fools.
Maybe they should cut down on the bitcoins? (Score:2)
Industrial power use (Score:2)
Of course, it's individuals and not industry that is being asked to cut back on power usage. Empty office buildings will be maintained at a nice cool 71ÂF.
uh. TX must be really screwed (Score:4, Insightful)
yeah , these might be record temperatures for May, but come June they will turn to slightly above normal and in July they will be normal.
Whatever is going on, they better fix it soon, or they are going to be completely and totally screwed this summer.
I mean, if they don't have enough power now, how exactly are they going to have enough power in August ??
So let's watch in Nov 2022 and see how many of the asshats currently responsible for this mess get re-elected...
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"But do not worry, the next one I choose will be closer to yours. How does nmell sound? Or mmeIl?"
Pig loves rolling in shit.
You seem to have forgotten the rules: (Score:2)
Don't mess with my wheels. Don't mess with my woman. Don't mess with my castle. Don't mess with my loot.
Today, in that order.
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even if you see them in a public parking lot.
1) You aren't thinking too straight are you?
2) Tesla software allows the car to charge during off-peak hours and is aware of the power grid issues. You car will automatically wait till evening to charge unless you force it to. Just because it is plugged in does not mean it is charging.
Stay in school kids, or you'll end up like OP.
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Yeah, and use other people's air conditioners as target practice.
Seriously, don't mess with other people's stuff. Unplugging someone's car is one step short of slashing their tires.
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LOL as though Texas has no taxes. Are you an idiot?
Texas has no income tax, it still has property taxes and sales taxes and those still affect poorer people.