Re: Texas Power Grid

ninjawife · ‎11-15-2011

What are people supposed to do when everyone supposedly has an electric car? Some ideas are just not well thought out.

granddi · ‎03-16-2010

@JamandBread wrote:
It seems that people are saying that Texas is highly dependent on wind energy and when there is no wind, you have rolling blackouts. Is that true? I didn't realize that the majority of energy generated in Texas is green. I just assumed it was fossil fuel, since I've always viewed Texas as a major oil producer. I'm frankly a little shocked.

According to ERCOT website, Texas energy comes from the following:

46% natural gas

23% wind

18%coal

11% nuclear

2% solar

FiddleDeeDee · ‎03-06-2020

The issue with power, heating/AC and global warming was a big discussion among friends this past weekend (here in FLorida as well as other parts of the US). We have seen our electric bill go up by $100 each month for the past 4 months though we have changed nothing. Our June bill was $575. Last year our June bill was $235. Our community FB page (private) exploded with threads about everyone's electric bill: those with 2 story homes; homes, larger than 3500 sq ft and those with pools saw bills at and over $1000 (I had NO idea how much a pool cost in electricity and thrilled we didn't buy a house with one).

At what point can people no longer afford electricity during the winter/summer? The majority of migration due to covid was to areas with sun and heat; the worst place to go due to global warming. Each year the temps pass the following summer; this is not going to improve and yet, states are not working on improving their grids, ask customers to sweat in their homes and raise rates by 10, 20, 30%. We were told to set our thermostat at 79-80 degrees. Now, add in humidity and are you kidding me? Plus we have serious mold issues so this just makes THAT worse. I grew up in hot and humid weather; so did our sons (DH spent many years in Australia and South Africa and finds the heat doesn't bother him in any way) so FLorida isn't that bad for us but.....it stinks to wake up in a pool of your sweat even with ceiling fans going. What about next year? and the year after that?

No one in my world sees ANY of the states we live in addressing this issue. Solar panels have their own set of serious problems and are not the solution in every situation. It's a mess and it's only going to get worse going forward.

Try to stay cool everyone!!

*Four Seasons once again*

ThinkingOutLoud · ‎05-01-2020

@ninjawife wrote:
What are people supposed to do when everyone supposedly has an electric car? Some ideas are just not well thought out.

Yep but those in charge don't seem to notice or care.

gtx · ‎08-15-2010

I live in Texas. We have raised our thermostat and closed the shutters that cover the windows. I do the cooking early in the day. I don't run the appliances during the peak time.

I pray the electricity doesn't shut off. We would definitely be hurting in this heat. Plus we would lose all the food in our refrigerator.

beckyb1012 · ‎03-09-2010

@gtx wrote:
I live in Texas. We have raised our thermostat and closed the shutters that cover the windows. I do the cooking early in the day. I don't run the appliances during the peak time.
I pray the electricity doesn't shut off. We would definitely be hurting in this heat. Plus we would lose all the food in our refrigerator.

I still have not forgotten how blessed I was during the 8 days I was iced in alone and never lost my power. I did get sick of the food I had on hand. I have been praying nightly that the grid holds up and heat abates soon.

"Live frugally, but love extravagantly."

JamandBread · ‎06-24-2021

@granddi wrote:
@JamandBread wrote:
It seems that people are saying that Texas is highly dependent on wind energy and when there is no wind, you have rolling blackouts. Is that true? I didn't realize that the majority of energy generated in Texas is green. I just assumed it was fossil fuel, since I've always viewed Texas as a major oil producer. I'm frankly a little shocked.
According to ERCOT website, Texas energy comes from the following:
46% natural gas
23% wind
18%coal
11% nuclear
2% solar

Thanks for this info. With 77% of the energy coming from non-green sources, why are the green sources being blamed for the shortage?

Maybe it's a talking point put out by the state to take the focus off the real problem.

JamandBread · ‎06-24-2021

@ninjawife wrote:
What are people supposed to do when everyone supposedly has an electric car? Some ideas are just not well thought out.

Can you still gas up your car in Texas if you lose power? Here, if the power goes out, gas stations can't pump either.

Icegoddess · ‎03-19-2010

@SilleeMee wrote:
I have a close friend who lives in a very rural area just outside of Abilene and she tells me all the time about how hot it's been there. She also says that her power goes out during extreme conditions. Now she's considering getting solar panels put on her house. I told her that would be a great idea especially when her electrical power fails. She's looking into government-assistance programs for residential solar systems. I understand that some are free. She cannot afford a whole-house generator, like Generac, so solar would be the way to go for her.

@SilleeMee I have not read all the answers, so don't know if anybody responded but something your friend should know about solar power. If she signs a deal with the electric company to hook up to the grid, the power company can take the power she is generating with her solar panels and divert it to places they feel more worthy. She may get paid back for her excess power that they buy from her, but many places are now instituting a minimum usage fee on their power bills.

As a result, some friends of mine did not put their solar on the grid and power some of their house with their solar panels and the rest is the power company. However, I would imagine that the AC, being one of the larger consumers of power, is probably coming from the power company.

Just some food for thought and to research.

Hubby has been thinking about solar also due to rolling power outages spreading across the country and not only CA anymore. With more turining to EV's and the like, unless the grid is upgraded, it will not be able to fully accommodate eveything at once. We also have a lot of trees, but there is some roof-line that gets sun at least half the day I think since we don't have tall trees to the west.

patbz · ‎03-10-2010

We occasionally pass a flatbed truck with a giant blade on it; before that, I had no clue that they were that huge. I've seen wind farms for close to 40 years in the high desert of California.