Community Chat

[september]

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@nanny24 wrote:

One of the big problems in Central Texas is the thousands of Californians moving here. There are scores of subdivisions popping up all over, and there is just not enough power to supply all of the new subdivisions. Add to that we are in a drought, and will probably have to watch our water consumption. Too many people!! Stay where you are!!

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Yep!   Texans love to blame Californians for their problems 🤣

[september]

And I will add, that I lived in CA for almost three decades.  During that time, most of the new residents I met, came from Texas!   

perhaps Californians can start blaming Texans for whatever  problems arose?

[hckynutjohn]

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:

https://www.npr.org/2021/02/18/968921895/what-really-caused-the-texas-power-shortage

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Thank you!

Here's a snippet.....

BILL MAGNESS: Really, it was across the board. We saw coal plants, gas plants, wind, solar, just all sorts of our resources trip off and not be able to perform.

DOMONOSKE: Bill Magness is the president and CEO of ERCOT - or the Electric Reliability Council of Texas - which manages the state electric grid. These frigid temperatures had people across Texas plugging in electric heaters all at once.

MAGNESS: Fundamentally, it is a historic storm that drove electric demand higher than we've ever seen by far.

DOMONOSKE: And at the exact same time, the supply of electricity went down. Wind turbines did freeze, so did natural gas wells and pipelines and water pipes at coal and nuclear plants. All of this frozen equipment meant power plants couldn't function. There simply wasn't enough electricity to go around.

@JamandBread 

I didn't catch the part where these 2  so-called Experts(?), said how electricity is made. Very strange.

Been around enough decades to have been in colder winters and hotter summers, yet, never heard anyone tell me to turn up my AC and turn down my Heat, well maybe jimmy c said, "put on a sweater".

I know! It's simple, it's the extreme weather. Makes perfect sense to those that have thousands of 3 dollar bills, and NPR as the source!

hckynut  🇺🇸

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[CalminHeart]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@CalminHeart wrote:

I worry about the innocent people affected by the power grid in TX. But really, people elected politicians who don't care and think an isolated grid is ok. Sometimes you get the cr*p you vote for.  

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@CalminHeart 

Its sad they interviewed some Seniors on limited budgets that were just using fans because they couldnt afford to use their A/C...CPS Energy has a program called REAP where customers can donate and add a few bucks to their bill to help people pay their electric bills that are struggling.....but how many people really donate to that fund????  Sounds like not enough...

The difference is Texas took the first step to lead the country in renewable energy even surpassing California and look at what happened....

Texas installed 7,352 megawatts of new wind, solar and energy installation projects in 2021, significantly outpacing California, which installed 2,697 megawatts . Oklahoma, Florida and New Mexico were the other top producing states.  @Kachina624 take note New Mexico is joining the party.....

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I love it when states invest in renewable energy. My state is also doing a lot and has been recognized for it. The sad thing is that it's not enough and I wish more was being done. And it hasn't changed circumstances for Texans yet. 

[Spurt]

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@CalminHeart wrote:

I worry about the innocent people affected by the power grid in TX. But really, people elected politicians who don't care and think an isolated grid is ok. Sometimes you get the cr*p you vote for.  

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@CalminHeart 

Its sad they interviewed some Seniors on limited budgets that were just using fans because they couldnt afford to use their A/C...CPS Energy has a program called REAP where customers can donate and add a few bucks to their bill to help people pay their electric bills that are struggling.....but how many people really donate to that fund????  Sounds like not enough...

The difference is Texas took the first step to lead the country in renewable energy even surpassing California and look at what happened....

Texas installed 7,352 megawatts of new wind, solar and energy installation projects in 2021, significantly outpacing California, which installed 2,697 megawatts . Oklahoma, Florida and New Mexico were the other top producing states.  @Kachina624 take note New Mexico is joining the party.....

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It's still only about 20% of your electricity sources. Clearly the source of the brownouts and blackouts is not Green electricity. It's your fossil fuels and power grid. Green energy is taking the blame because, propaganda. Clearly, whatever "investment" was made was not enough for the number of households and business that depend on the independent Texas grid. Since I've just learned it's independent from the rest of the nation's grid, that might be a good place to start. 

But I understand the legislature has more pressing priorities. 

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What if 20% of your income was taken? Or 20% of the gas in your car?

20% makes a difference.

eta: posted previously (I'm seeing 25% is green, not 20)

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

46% natural gas

23% wind

18%coal

11% nuclear

 2% solar

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Oh, pardon the 5%.  In other words, Texas is virtually dependent on fossil fuels. 75% of your energy comes from that. But when you have a grid failure, it's the 25% that gets the blame. It doesn't matter to me, because you are on an independent grid from the rest of the nation. I'm not being asked to conserve to help share the burden in Texas.

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@CalminHeart @granddi 

Yes, Texas is #10 in fossil fuels, but it makes sense because no state is really ready to "turn green" and our problems started with Ercot and not having the proper reserves on hand AND changing the fuel mix, what we had in natural gas, coal, nuclear wasnt enough to offset the harsh artic storm for Texas......so the green energy was useless---solar/wind and the  fossil fuel didnt have enough capacity so all of them froze....And a lot of people at Ercot resigned before they could get sued....ya wanna copy of the report from our city....  

And what to do with windmills that need to be "retired" and those solar panels that are "done" and the lithioum batteries from the electric cars.....People are trying to force green when we arent ready and dont have solutions for some the questions green energy presents....Oh BTW those wind mills need electricity to function..... And no one mentions new concrete buildings that add to increases in temperatures and also contribute to climate change.  Also did you know the cleaner the air the more hurricanes develop per NOAA .

[Spurt]

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@BlueFinch wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@BlueFinch wrote:

ERCOT regurgitates the same mantra every time: 'We didn't know it would get this bad, or this is an unprecedented event." It's weather, kids know it can get bad. History shows it can get bad. Excuses prevail. 

This morning, they're already whining that they may need to have rolling brownouts, but for only about 15 minutes. Yeah, right.

Thankfully, we made it through yesterday's temp of 107 (h.index 112) and the 104 predicted today may be less due to some clouds throughout the morning. Maybe ERCOT can handle it. 

I do my part to conserve, willing to be uncomfortable, but know others who will make no attempts to comply. It kinda sums up the problem we're having with just about everything these days. We're wasting time, and resources, butting heads. 

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@BlueFinch 

The new interim CPSENERGY CEO says SA is in pretty good shape if people continue to voluntarily conserve, he said he noticed a difference in capacity when notices went out (alerts on phones, emails, and calls to customer "power savers") right a 2pm as requested....

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@Spurt I didn't hear that, but thank goodness some folks are rising for the cause. They need to keep beating the drum, though. It's not a one time deal, with us facing triple digits for the next two weeks, possibly more.

I'm doing all I can. The last two years I was on the power saver's list, but they haven't called me this year. Maybe they periodically change up players to get more people involved? But in the past, I ranked #10-12 out of a 100, so I really can't do any better myself, or I'll croak over here :-).

Do I ever need to do laundry right now. No way I'm turning on that dryer, though. We need a break. 

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@BlueFinch 

Yep, I do the same as you, the only thing is I HAVE TO do laundry once in awhile and do have to do dishes by hand or dishwasher...do I save water with dishwasher or wash by hand to save energy....🤔  If people want REASONABLE electric bills they are going to HAVE TO conserve.....  I noticed one channel, KENS5 is really hyping it up and not telling all the facts, but thats that channel wanting to be #1....(I can tell you stories that were untrue from that channel on several topics---I dont trust them....I watch WOAI or Ksat....)

[Spurt]

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@Cakers3 wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@CalminHeart wrote:

I worry about the innocent people affected by the power grid in TX. But really, people elected politicians who don't care and think an isolated grid is ok. Sometimes you get the cr*p you vote for.  

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@CalminHeart 

Its sad they interviewed some Seniors on limited budgets that were just using fans because they couldnt afford to use their A/C...CPS Energy has a program called REAP where customers can donate and add a few bucks to their bill to help people pay their electric bills that are struggling.....but how many people really donate to that fund????  Sounds like not enough...

The difference is Texas took the first step to lead the country in renewable energy even surpassing California and look at what happened....

Texas installed 7,352 megawatts of new wind, solar and energy installation projects in 2021, significantly outpacing California, which installed 2,697 megawatts . Oklahoma, Florida and New Mexico were the other top producing states.  @Kachina624 take note New Mexico is joining the party.....

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@Spurt   I highlighted what needs to be repeated.

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@Cakers3 

No one wants to face the cold hard facts (pardon the pun) but in extreme weather trying to reduce fossil fuel and rely on green didnt work, the technology just isnt ready...but people dont like to read that.....I say "follow the money".....thats why its being forced on us before anyone has all their ducks in a row.... Im all for saving trees and sensible solutions but too many times the $$$ gets in the way....ya know what I mean...

[Spurt]

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@ThinkingOutLoud wrote:

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@JamandBread wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@CalminHeart wrote:

I worry about the innocent people affected by the power grid in TX. But really, people elected politicians who don't care and think an isolated grid is ok. Sometimes you get the cr*p you vote for.  

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@CalminHeart 

Its sad they interviewed some Seniors on limited budgets that were just using fans because they couldnt afford to use their A/C...CPS Energy has a program called REAP where customers can donate and add a few bucks to their bill to help people pay their electric bills that are struggling.....but how many people really donate to that fund????  Sounds like not enough...

The difference is Texas took the first step to lead the country in renewable energy even surpassing California and look at what happened....

Texas installed 7,352 megawatts of new wind, solar and energy installation projects in 2021, significantly outpacing California, which installed 2,697 megawatts . Oklahoma, Florida and New Mexico were the other top producing states.  @Kachina624 take note New Mexico is joining the party.....

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It's still only about 20% of your electricity sources. Clearly the source of the brownouts and blackouts is not Green electricity. It's your fossil fuels and power grid. Green energy is taking the blame because, propaganda. Clearly, whatever "investment" was made was not enough for the number of households and business that depend on the independent Texas grid. Since I've just learned it's independent from the rest of the nation's grid, that might be a good place to start. 

But I understand the legislature has more pressing priorities. 

---

What if 20% of your income was taken? Or 20% of the gas in your car?

20% makes a difference.

eta: posted previously (I'm seeing 25% is green, not 20)

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

46% natural gas

23% wind

18%coal

11% nuclear

 2% solar

---

Oh, pardon the 5%.  In other words, Texas is virtually dependent on fossil fuels. 75% of your energy comes from that. But when you have a grid failure, it's the 25% that gets the blame. It doesn't matter to me, because you are on an independent grid from the rest of the nation. I'm not being asked to conserve to help share the burden in Texas.

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@JamandBread 

But does that erase the facts that in the entire U.S. Texas is #1 in renewalable energy.....and adding solar WHILE REDUCING FOSSIL FUELS didnt work....and ERCOT didnt have enough reserves to help so what was there wasnt the right mix....so the grid FAILED people resigned or were fired...The U.S. isnt ready to go green the technology isnt there....  Google Germany and see whats happening and globally they are paying the highest rates for energy.....and are going back to some forms of fossil fuels...

[skatting44]

@On It 

   you may consider buying a generator that runs on battery power that can be charged by   either electric plug outlet or solar  to help keep it charged if electric goes out

I am planning ahead as  blackouts  for alot of people in the US are likely

[Spurt]

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@hckynutjohn wrote:

@granddi 

Didn't the windmills freeze up somewhere in Texas during the winter? And some want to depend on wind and the sun for sufficient power?  🤔 Uh Huh!

hckynut  🇺🇸

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@hckynutjohn 

Solar isnt effective in the winter and if there's no wind, the windmills cant turn...like now with the high pressure over us and virtually no wind and record breaking heat.....Yes in the winter the others froze too but they were running at reduced capacity and with no help from the green energy either the grid failed....there wasnt enough fossil fuels to save us since green didnt work...