Electric blackout - Is it all over Texas?

[Arrowsmith]

All this stress, angst, worry, fear, and monetary damage was caused by cold air......not a violent hurricane, a powerful tornado or tornadoes or even an earth quake.....just record low cold air temperatures.

This markedly identifies multiple problems with the condition and realiabilty of the power grid in Texas.

There is probably some terrorist group out there checking a box on this event as a future opportunity to wreak havoc.

Prayers spoken for everyone affected by this storm.

Preppers gonna Prep.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[wellingtontx]

Smeone - do you mind sharing your background or work experience, you seem to be very knowledgeable on this issue ? Not trying to intrude, just want to understand the basis of your knowledge and information.

Thank you for all of your explanation here.
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*Also noted in materials that ERCOT is in process of building a new building so they can have a larger conference room. SMH

[wellingtontx]

http://www.ercot.com/committee/board

Terry Bulger Director
Mark Carpenter Director
Lori Cobos Director
Peter Cramton Director
Nick Fehrenbach Director
Kevin Gresham Director
Sam Harper Director
Clifton Karnei Director
Bill Magness ERCOT CEO; Director
Jackie Sargent Director
DeAnn T. Walker PUCT Chairman; Director
Keith Emery Segment Alternate
Mike Kezar Segment Alternate
Glen Lyons Segment Alternate
Jennifer Richie Segment Alternate
Steven Schleimer Segment Alternate
Wade Smith Segment Alternate
Ian Taylor Segment Alternate

[Smeone]

Smeone - do you mind sharing your background or work experience, you seem to be very knowledgeable on this issue ? Not trying to intrude, just want to understand the basis of your knowledge and information.

Thank you for all of your explanation here.
======

*Also noted in materials that ERCOT is in process of building a new building so they can have a larger conference room. SMH

my background is in a small subset of agriculture and also computers it has nothing to do with the oil and gas industry or with the electric power generation or distribution

in fact my general knowledge of electrical stuff consist of it is under 12 volts I might mess with it if it is over 12 volts including 24V I don't f with it

but having said that I have read about and studied the renewables industry for a while now and I also keep up with "water" which is the next major issue for Texas

the fact is there are solutions for both water and energy that could make Texas a major supplier of both to a large part of the (dry) USA and parts of the USA that are adverse to new sources of reliable power

but really my answers to these questions are based on simple facts and some understanding

what is the issue with natural gas....well it does not have a redundant delivery system, it is strictly "just in time", the capacity to deliver it is highly inelastic, and demand goes up from multiple sources all at the same time....home heat and cooking and power plants

what does that tell you....well it tells me that when you have an issue you are going to have a MAJOR issue and that issue is going to be felt in a number of ways.....at the small residential user that might have electricity, but no gas to the furnace and no way to run a stove or oven....or they might have gas, but no electric to run the furnace fan and no way to power an electric heater

or if they are really lucky they might have the best of both worlds!!!! no power and no gas!!!!

what does that tell you....well it tells me that maybe I want to have major electricity generated by something other than gas.....like coal that can be stored at the power plant for a weeks worth of use or more

i know that west Texas wind blows mostly at night in the summer when electric use is low.....this is just simple experience.....I know that when it is butt cold in Texas (we are talking extreme) there is generally very low winds

I know when it is butt cold in Texas it is often overcast and it is colder at night....solar does not work at night....solar does not work well when it is overcast or when there is snow on the solar panels

so that tells me solar is not an answer for reliable power neither is wind

so what is....well natural gas....but we discussed those issues they are simple facts lack of redundancy and massive spikes in demand and no storage ability

that goes back to coal that defeats all of those issues

there is nuclear....well good luck with that

there are battery backups or there is pumped hydro storage.....both of those eventually require a "recharge" which means demand from the grid during times of excess capacity.....but if you are having a major day extreme event will you ever get that time to recharge

and of course in Texas areas with elevation changes usually have a lot less water and not enough for pumped storage.....unless Texas gets serious about MAKING MORE WATER instead of doing what the USA (even Texas) does and tries to find a way to get a hold of a finite source of water (like aquifer water in low populations of west Texas or excess lake water in east Texas) and move it to major areas of use

people never want to do what we used to do in the USA to make the USA GREAT and that is MAKE MORE OF SOMETHING....like make more fresh water from an infinite supply of salt water that lies next to a massive part of the state....a part of the state that is sunny, has natural gas, and that has offshore wind...and that lies next to areas of major water use or areas of dry lands

long term solutions require a big picture answer that looks at the issues that effect all of the problems you are having

you are having problems with reliable natural gas power.....you would have to be plumb stupid to think the answer is more natural gas power plants unless you want to build an entire new set of infrastructure to service those plants apart from the infrastructure you currently are having issues with supplying the current natural gas plants...and of course hope that infrastructure does not have the same issues in the future

same with wind....hey the wind is not blowing a lot all over the state.....dunce caps answer tot hat is MORE TURBINES!!!...smart person hits dunce in the head with a lump of coal

hey it is overcast and freezing at night....MORE SOLAR.....hit that dunce with a lump of coal

you have to look at the big picture.....the issue is not "wind" or "solar" those are just fine when they work and they can work well.....but the issue is stupid green idiots that refuse to acknowledge the issue with them.....or with the issues with natural gas and those issues are very hard to overcome in a highly reliable way and trying to do so can easily lead to a much larger disaster if your stored energy runs out or if the gas infrastructure cannot keep up

more irons in the fire not hotter irons or bigger irons....more irons

[SaintBlaise]

Terry Bulger Director
Mark Carpenter Director
Lori Cobos Director
Peter Cramton Director
Nick Fehrenbach Director
Kevin Gresham Director
Sam Harper Director
Clifton Karnei Director
Bill Magness ERCOT CEO; Director
Jackie Sargent Director
DeAnn T. Walker PUCT Chairman; Director
Keith Emery Segment Alternate
Mike Kezar Segment Alternate
Glen Lyons Segment Alternate
Jennifer Richie Segment Alternate
Steven Schleimer Segment Alternate
Wade Smith Segment Alternate
Ian Taylor Segment Alternate

I wonder the experience and salary.

[cantexduck]

I lost power Saturday at 6pm. Haven’t even had a flicker. Everything in the house freezes each night. Two miles away , they have power. It seems everyone with oncor is white our power in my area and everyone with PEC has power. We lost water two days ago. My wife and youngest are at my oldest daughters house because they have power. I am at the house to take care of the animals. I also run to my mom and sisters house to heat up water / food for them
And to the ranch to feed animals.

[wellingtontx]

I wonder the experience and salary.

Probably an Open Records Request would get that data.

Their entity affiliation is posted on ERCOT website.

[orchard]

Well, here you go.

Texas power disaster may be strongest case yet for renewable energy
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/te...article_inline

Here is a quote from that article.

“ For starters, the blame for the Texas power crunch, at least according to early readouts from Texas utilities officials, and backed by analysts, was multifold. That fact alone should energize the pursuit of a diverse energy portfolio and upgraded grid to help the U.S. rein in emissions contributing to global warming and keep energy relatively low-cost, especially for vulnerable communities.”

[Burnadell]

Smeone, thanks for your insight on this mess. Your research and opinions shed some much needed light on the issues.

I have some questions about Ercot's role in this problem, but I will start another thread to keep from bogging this current thread down.