Here we go one more time and it ain’t likely to be the final time.
The Texas temperatures are rocketing into the triple digits and we’re starting to hear concern expressed on local media over whether the state’s electrical grid will be able to withstand the demand that we are going to place on it.
It’s the Winter Freeze of 2021 in reverse!
Back in February 2021, when Texans were freezing to death in the grip of that killer freeze, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas came under intense criticism for mishandling the power load placed on it. The power shut off, as did the water. We lucked out a bit in Princeton, in that our power was out only for a few hours; the water came back not long after it went down.
The state vowed to fix the power grid. To modernize it. To make it less vulnerable to the elements.
Most of the ERCOT board quit, as did the Public Utility Commission of Texas. New leadership meant changes, right?
Hah! Stop me from laughing out loud.
Summer has arrived! The temps are climbing. We’re getting advisories to conserve energy. Why? Because ERCOT — the seemingly misnamed electricity provider — needs help to keep the AC units running in this heat.
I am baffled as to why Texas — with its enormous supply of energy resources — cannot issue guarantees that its electrical grid will withstand the demands placed on it. It just remains a puzzle to me that a state such as Texas, which boasts constantly of its self-sufficiency, just gnaws on its proverbial fingernails when the temperature rises in the summer.
I mean, it’s not as though it’s a surprise! It gets damn hot around here every year at this time!