Will the rolling blackouts affect Texas the way they affected California?

[Horse with no Name]

Too bad we have to wait until November to find out.

[muse]

1. I had a horrible time getting home today in Houston after work

I'm convinced my pileups in traffic - long, long lines at traffic lights - had to be due to traffic lights going out due to blackouts. It was just too different than it has ever been. It took me exactly twice as long to get home as usual. Not fun.

[art3]

2. yup

its insane. insane. and we pay these prices for what?

[johncoby2]

3. We all know it is Clinton's fault.

I dont think they have anymore excuses.

[derby378]

4. Here's a related question that might carry more weight...

Are any of the Enron energy traders from the California scam involved in trading energy in Texas markets? I just want to make sure that Ricochet and Death Star aren't being implemented here in the Lone Star State. But I need proof.

[Horse with no Name]

6. I think all one really needs to do is follow the money

How intertwined are all of the "deregulated" energy companies?
My guess is that they are incestuous and I would bet that there are many of the same players involved at various levels.
The other thing one has to consider is that a few months ago, the PUC took the companies to task and talked about lowering their rates for them since they wouldn't do it themselves.
I never heard anything else about it, but since my electric rates haven't gone down, my guess is that the PUC was all talk and no play.
Is this the electric companies way of getting back at them and showing them that their rates are justified?
Let people do without electricity and you won't hear a peep out of them when it comes time to raise rates again.

[Fleshdancer]

5. I wish I knew

I do know that Austin is expecting another day of 100 degrees and the local news is begging people to conserve as much energy as possible. I've already gone around my place and turned off all the non-essentials. I consider my laptop an essential though because I work from home and really do need it. :)

This is just wild...I don't recall ever having rolling blackouts here before and I wonder if this is going to happen all summer. I usually consider myself pretty well informed but this situation snuck up on me and now I'm scrambling to find more information about this. I assume there would be political fall out though if the blackouts keep happening. :shrug:

[NoPasaran]

7. Hmmmm

Do you mean will people blame the governor and kick him out of office? I'm all for it!

[Horse with no Name]

8. Yep.

:evilgrin:
Too bad we have to wait until November to find out...

[Lisa0825]

9. It's only been 92 in Houston.

What are we in store for when it hits the upper 90s or 100 for most of August? :scared:

[crispini]

10. Actually part of the problem is that it's so early.

I believe they take some of the generation capacity offline in the spring to do maintenance work and that is why we are having this problem.

[Lisa0825]

12. Good, I am glad there is an explanation for that!

I was getting worried! And I just got central AC installed in my house! YIPEE! I am looking forward to a more comfortable summer for a change, but worried about the bills!

[Texaroo]

11. California was a special case.....

They deregulated before they had sufficient internal power generation plants, so they had tom import electricity, and Enron and others more or less worked as the troll under the bridge. Texas generates most of its own power (80%), so this little bit of spring fun is pure mismanagement - ERCOT allowed capacity to be reduced to a level where the tolerance for increased demand (30% spike) was apparently not adequate.

Plus, the power plants deliberately go offline to ensure that limited supply keeps the price of energy high. So, in a way, Texas is a victime of deregulation, just was California, but we have a slightly different twist - ERCOT controls our market, and not ENRON. This is W's legacy as Governor, and Perry's FAILURE to warn the public that this was possible. Since when does a state agency enact such a high-impact decision without comment from our Governor?

Chris Bell should be all over this, pointing to the failure of leadership...

[WolverineDG]

13. If rates go through the roof

& the electric bills are super-high this summer, can we put re-regulation of the electric companies back on the table? We just got our water company back from a private company that (surprise--NOT) was putting profits over making sure people got safe, clean water.

dg

[BrightKnight]

14. TXU mothballed the North Lake power plant

"In November 2004, TXU Power proposed mothballing the North Lake plant, meaning it would remain inactive due to market demand."

http://www.txucorp.com/power/plants/north_lake.aspx

If they really had capacity issues that would be talking about re-opening North Lake. They would also be taking specific steps to maximize the other resources they have.

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I would like to see a few more Comanche Peak plants built. "Each uranium Pellet produces as much energy as... 1,780 pounds of coal; or 19,200 cubic feet of natural gas. There are more than 18,000,000 fuel pellets in each reactor."