ERCOT, PUC, and deregulation got us here

[The Ace of Aces 5106]

1 hour ago, Aqua Buddha said:

30 seconds of exhaustive internet research told me that Oklahoma gets 32% of their power from wind yet they stayed operational.  Maybe it's not wind's fault, after all.

40+ percent of Iowa's energy comes from wind. Pretty sure it gets cold there too. Source: https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/features/wind-power-states-us/

[Captainant 27479]

Wait is Macklemore the new icono sock? How could you tell? He hasn't been on a neg spree or threatening to shoot immigrants 

[disgustipated 39]

23 minutes ago, SizzleChest said:

Yes, in a sense.  But a personal automobile is not a basic service.  

 

[Bateshorn 9908]

Well Macklemore just made an anti immigrant post, so the facts match.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Bateshorn

[disgustipated 39]

57 minutes ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I have always been pro-nuclear.  South Texas Project has been a boon for the most part.  

Is it fair to say, in the midst of this epic failure and zero sum game, there are many companies that have made a mint, many that will be bankrupted, and the cost of their bankruptcies will be shouldered by .....

[Hagbard Celine 10771]

dallas thaw: cobblestone ice probable from melt next 48 hours, real thaw saturday afternoon, sunday first 24-hours above freezing

[956 Worldwide 34466]

26 minutes ago, Js1 said:

Ugh visiting pre-Shah Iran would be a top 5 "if you could travel back in time" destination.   Just to experience it. 

I think you mean “pre-Ayatollah.” Because “pre-Shah” was 1499 or thereabouts. 

[Js1 85141]

1 minute ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I think you mean “pre-Ayatollah.” Because “pre-Shah” was 1499 or thereabouts. 

Potato, potatoe. 

[956 Worldwide 34466]

1 minute ago, disgustipated said:

Is it fair to say, in the midst of this epic failure and zero sum game, there are many companies that have made a mint, many that will be bankrupted, and the cost of their bankruptcies will be shouldered by .....

This whole debate of wind/solar/gas/coal is kabuki theater designed to distract attention from the proximate, solvable cause of the crisis. The huge capital intensive projects and long term build out of power plants is decided and will not be changed, there will be lots of finger pointing and then what was going to happen will happen. It’s not analogous to turning around an aircraft carrier—- it’s building an aircraft carrier, launching, sailing, turning around , scrapping and then building a submarine instead. 
 

No one will come out and say “we could have built all this shit so that it would function in cold. We didn’t because it didn’t make financial sense because Texas usually doesn’t get this cold. And it still doesn’t make financial sense so we’re not going to go upgrade it.”

If they said that people would make them go do it, and they don’t want to. 

[6th Street 6357]

50 minutes ago, MoJames said:

Checking in from Colorado, approx 25% of our power is wind, no power outages at my house which is at 7400 feet and had about 2 foot of snow in the past week.

Solid 5" overnight here in Denver and no issues.

[Macklemore 2870]

32 minutes ago, wildcat09 said:

Did you seriously create a new sock to circumvent the CR ban that you requested?

I am an old white guy. Not a deranged meth addict sucking dick.

Edited February 18, 2021 by Macklemore

[disgustipated 39]

3 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

This whole debate of wind/solar/gas/coal is kabuki theater designed to distract attention from the proximate, solvable cause of the crisis. The huge capital intensive projects and long term build out of power plants is decided and will not be changed, there will be lots of finger pointing and then what was going to happen will happen. It’s not analogous to turning around an aircraft carrier—- it’s building an aircraft carrier, launching, sailing, turning around , scrapping and then building a submarine instead. 
 

No one will come out and say “we could have built all this shit so that it would function in cold. We didn’t because it didn’t make financial sense because Texas usually doesn’t get this cold. And it still doesn’t make financial sense so we’re not going to go upgrade it.”

If they said that people would make them go do it, and they don’t want to. 

My point, specific to this incident, is it fair to say there are power traders in this market that made their numbers for the year, REP's  that were not appropriately hedged, and someone who is going to foot the bill, and who is that someone.

[Bama Chick 28596]

Solid 5" overnight here in Denver and no issues.

Heck, we got 5-6 inches overnight, which is now on top of the residue from Monday’s ice storm, and going on day 5 of sub freezing temperatures IN ALABAMA and we haven’t had significant power outages.

[Aqua Buddha 14525]

8 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Solid 5" overnight here in Denver and no issues.

But do you fave MUH FREEDOMS!!!!????

[bolverk 29415]

On 2/16/2021 at 4:14 PM, cactusflinthead said:

 

I'm several pages and a couple of days behind (partially due to our deregulated electricity market), but I need to chime in here. Although Troy has retired to Horseshoe Bay, he's not from there. I went to high school with his daughter and his good-for-nothing shithead son. While Troy portrayed himself locally as a pillar of the First Baptist Church, whenever he was away Sunny would host gigantic, open-bar parties for all of us fellow underaged high schoolers at their hacienda. Troy, himself, was always an "aw shucks" kind of guy around town, but even at the age of 16, I easily figured out he was a total shyster. Sunny was smart enough, decent, and okay, but her younger brother was an absolute shit, who took much more after his dad, and was a total cokehead. He eventually got arrested on 6th Street in Austin while his dad was still in office. /csb

[Doc Sam Beckett 5784]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

Again, Penelope with well-stated and succinct truth. Seriously, I may propose to this lovely woman. I’m sure my wife would be ok with it.
 

You spent the last few months gobbling up cheek kisses from Whiggins and now you're running your mouth in public about proposing to Penelope? Look, I'd never tell a fellow playa how to roll, but you're about to get knifed by someone. 

[6th Street 6357]

6 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

But do you fave MUH FREEDOMS!!!!????

Sadly no, we are socialists in CO that have to rely on the gubmint for power and water. 

[Dahobbs 17451]

1 minute ago, Doc Sam Beckett said:

You spent the last few months gobbling up cheek kisses from Whiggins and now you're running your mouth in public about proposing to Penelope? Look, I'd never tell a fellow playa how to roll, but you're about to get knifed by someone. 

don't hate the playa... 

[SizzleChest 8275]

40 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Listen, I’m not saying it is, but what I am doing is trying to ascribe the right responsibility and blame to those most culpable. Homes and WallStreet aren’t basic functions either, nor is a college education, but we’ve managed to fuck over the fortunes of plenty of folks that way too. I’m discussing a mentality. 
 

what do you do to change bad behaviors? You penalize those responsible and vote out those who give them cover. Same as it ever was, dude. 

Agree, and it's actually more egregious to fuck over basic services like this.  The social compact continues to get kicked in the balls repeatedly on multiple fronts, but losing the ability to provide essential services is even more over the top.  The political system can't and won't change this because it's been crippled and there's no clear view as to how it will get healed.

Edited February 18, 2021 by SizzleChest

[RDCanecutter 26298]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Can you imagine the mental state of a person who is freezing their balls off because power plants in the world’s wealthiest and most powerful nation didn’t winterize—- and the immediate target of his anger is REFUGEES! 

His screen name was "Ags4DaWin," so it really doesn't take much imagination.

[Brisketexan 104683]

You spent the last few months gobbling up cheek kisses from Whiggins and now you're running your mouth in public about proposing to Penelope? Look, I'd never tell a fellow playa how to roll, but you're about to get knifed by someone. 

I’m looking into becoming LDS. Get me a whole passel of smart wives. All I have to do is become handsome and charming enough to convince multiple women to marry me.

That may present a significant hurdle.

Agree, and it's actually more egregious to fuck over basic services like this.  The social compact continues to get kicked in the balls repeatedly on multiple fronts, but losing the ability to provide essential services is even more over the top.  The political system can't and won't change this because it's been crippled and there's no clear view as to how it will get healed.

The social compact is dead. The only thing that matters is dollars and profits. Everything else, including you and your life, is worthy only as sacrifices on the altar of profit for the very few. That’s what we have chosen. And we’ll fight to the death to keep it that way.

[Bullneck 19018]

 

 

[NWBuck 8548]

1 hour ago, Bama Chick said:

Heck, we got 5-6 inches overnight, which is now on top....

[elfenix 34186]

3 hours ago, SydneyCarton said:

I can’t give you a citation, man. It’s just my business. Add up the employees that handle deregulated energy at reliant, txu, direct energy (now txu), entrust, Gexa, champion energy, constellation energy, plus the hundreds of small REPs that have cycled through the Texas marketplace. That’s people handling marketing, trading, pricing, operations, support staff, sales, public relations, business development. Now consider the contract labor associated with those businesses, partnership vendors, and probably a dozen of other avenues or more I’m missing. These businesses also support call center staff in bulk, which means software and CIS support. Oh let’s not forget tech and IT, plus contracts with cloud computing and storage. It’s a lot of motherfucking jobs and business that contributes to the economy, dude. I can spend time mapping it out when I’m not scrounging for fucking toilet water, dude, or you can take my word for it. 

i still think you're off by an order of magnitude.

 

 

also, hooray, we employed a bunch of middle men whose job definitely wasn't to make sure that power worked when you really needed it.  maybe we should have had them do that and skip the whole naming stadiums thing.

Edited February 18, 2021 by elfenix

[elfenix 34186]

2 hours ago, PenelopeWitherspoon said:

I completely agree with you.  I am in support of deregulation and consumer choice.  I know you have been without power, but I have been trying to explain to a lot of people how ERCOT works.  I may not be in the industry anymore, but I still remember how it all works.  

[956 Worldwide 34466]

1 hour ago, 6th Street said:

Solid 5" overnight here in Denver and no issues.

Yeah, but how much snow did you get? 

[Beau Vine 54010]

[SydneyCarton 47924]

6 minutes ago, elfenix said:

i still think you're off by an order of magnitude.

An order of magnitude? So if I said 200k Youd say 20k? I had a long typed out screed about the # of employees DE had in greenway plaza, how many folks are in a medium sized call center, the door to door industry, but fuck it. You’re going to think what you want to think. Youre generally a great poster so I have no interest in getting in a passing contest with you.  
 

 

[Beau Vine 54010]

 

[Beantown Express 2.0 6555]

59 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

 

I’m looking into becoming LDS. Get me a whole passel of smart wives. All I have to do is become handsome and charming enough to convince multiple women to marry me.

That may present a significant hurdle.



The social compact is dead. The only thing that matters is dollars and profits. Everything else, including you and your life, is worthy only as sacrifices on the altar of profit for the very few. That’s what we have chosen. And we’ll fight to the death to keep it that way.

 

I have one wife.  Why the fuck would I want more than that?  You have been on the ledge too long.  

[elfenix 34186]

1 minute ago, SydneyCarton said:

An order of magnitude? So if I said 200k Youd say 20k? I had a long typed out screed about the # of employees DE had in greenway plaza, how many folks are in a medium sized call center, the door to door industry, but fuck it. You’re going to think what you want to think. Youre generally a great poster so I have no interest in getting in a passing contest with you.  
 

 

*pissing

🙃

[SydneyCarton 47924]

10 minutes ago, elfenix said:

*pissing

🙃

Autocorrect can die on a fire. Was typing in my car. 

[WBT 20428]

1 hour ago, Brisketexan said:

The social compact is dead. The only thing that matters is dollars and profits. Everything else, including you and your life, is worthy only as sacrifices on the altar of profit for the very few. That’s what we have chosen. And we’ll fight to the death to keep it that way.

So you think Republican donors, on the whole, are profiting from this disaster?  This is far more a case of stupidity and incompetence than malfeasance.  

Even for power generators, the blow back is going to far outweigh whatever corners they had been cutting.

[SquishMitten 10402]

10 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Autocorrect can die on a fire. Was typing in my car. 

I like it. While CTJ is racing other posters, some of us who don't like to run can challenge you in a passing contest. We'll have more ticket sales that way.

Edited February 18, 2021 by SquishMitten

[Dahobbs 17451]

1 minute ago, WBT said:

So you think Republican donors, on the whole, are profiting from this disaster?  This is far more a case of stupidity and incompetence than malfeasance.  

Even for power generators, the blow back is going to far outweigh whatever corners they had been cutting.

They profited until now. And somehow they'll end up with federal subsidies to bail them out of this disaster. Zero incentive to fix anything or behave better. 

[SydneyCarton 47924]

7 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

I don’t know why you and CTJ insist on solving everything by 40 yard dashes and adult punt, pass and kick competitions.  People have real problems to deal with and no time for that tomfoolery, Sydney! 

Sigh. And I can say it wouldn’t be much of a contest. I can’t throw for shit. 

[Ted Lange 16054]

 

 

[Js1 85141]

12 minutes ago, longhornmatt said:

I assume there will be something arranged where public funds are used to winterize gas lines and wells.  It would be good for the O&G industry and for Texas, and the industry would happily accept someone else paying for it.

Yes, Flyin Ted and Cowboy John will lobby Biden to include this in the infrastructure bill. 

[956 Worldwide 34466]

12 minutes ago, WBT said:

So you think Republican donors, on the whole, are profiting from this disaster?  This is far more a case of stupidity and incompetence than malfeasance.  

Even for power generators, the blow back is going to far outweigh whatever corners they had been cutting.

There’s not going to BE any blowback, at least of the coordinated, focused sort that leads to consequences and changed behavior. Forget it, the time has passed, that window is closed.
 

This is how disinformation campaigns work, and what you are seeing is a coordinated disinformation campaign. Every bit of available political oxygen is getting sucked up in an argument over whether wind and solar is to blame, or big bad dinosaur juice; whether to kick and scream against the imaginary Green New Deal, or double down on renewable. 
 

All of that has shit-all to do with what actually happened (basically, none of our shit had insulation installed). It’s like Russians and the Malaysia Air downing. (It was the Americans? The Ukrainians? A plane full of dead bodies with a bomb on board?) 

The point isn’t to make up a believable story. It’s enough just to make people spend all their time debunking your bullshit and then there’s no will or energy to actually hold you accountable. 

[kevwun 15668]

15 minutes ago, Dahobbs said:

They profited until now. And somehow they'll end up with federal subsidies to bail them out of this disaster. Zero incentive to fix anything or behave better. 

Yes, businesses with little or no regulation do not plan for the future if they know they will never face any consequences from fucking up.  They only care about the next quarter's earnings report.  When making decisions, they will always choose the option that means more profit now. 

[SydneyCarton 47924]

7 minutes ago, Ted Lange said:

 

 

Yeah. Once the grid goes down, getting it back up is a fucking nightmare, as we’ve seen. This wasn’t an ERCOT problem. Although I’d be critical a bit of what I saw as an overabundance of caution bringing more power online to residents...but I also wasn’t in the room for those conversations and don’t understand what the available generation was/has been...

[DonkeyCigars 144]

13 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Yes, businesses with little or no regulation do not plan for the future if they know they will never face any consequences from fucking up.  They only care about the next quarter's earnings report.  When making decisions, they will always choose the option that means more profit now. 

[Brisketexan 104683]

So you think Republican donors, on the whole, are profiting from this disaster?  This is far more a case of stupidity and incompetence than malfeasance.  
Even for power generators, the blow back is going to far outweigh whatever corners they had been cutting.

They profited right up till this moment. And their political protectors will make sure that they are protected from any blowback. I mean, why would there be any blowback? This was all AOC’s fault.

They profited until now. And somehow they'll end up with federal subsidies to bail them out of this disaster. Zero incentive to fix anything or behave better. 

BINGO.

There’s not going to BE any blowback, at least of the coordinated, focused sort that leads to consequences and changed behavior. Forget it, the time has passed, that window is closed.
 
This is how disinformation campaigns work, and what you are seeing is a coordinated disinformation campaign. Every bit of available political oxygen is getting sucked up in an argument over whether wind and solar is to blame, or big bad dinosaur juice; whether to kick and scream against the imaginary Green New Deal, or double down on renewable. 
 
All of that has shit-all to do with what actually happened (basically, none of our shit had insulation installed). It’s like Russians and the Malaysia Air downing. (It was the Americans? The Ukrainians? A plane full of dead bodies with a bomb on board?) 
The point isn’t to make up a believable story. It’s enough just to make people spend all their time debunking your bullshit and then there’s no will or energy to actually hold you accountable. 

Yes, businesses with little or no regulation do not plan for the future if they know they will never face any consequences from fucking up.  They only care about the next quarter's earnings report.  When making decisions, they will always choose the option that means more profit now. 

Two perfect posts. Y’all understand how this works.

There is the concept of profits, and the concept of the public good. Profits are God. The common good is the devil. It’s not any more complicated than that.

Our leadership chose a path that literally kills people in order to add an extra margin to the profits of their donors. You think those fuckers are going to sprout a conscience NOW? They will do what they’ve already done: lie, deflect all blame, and find a way to make this ANOTHER profit-making opportunity at the expense of the common good.

When someone tells and shows you what they are, over and over and over and over and over and over and over....believe them. If shooting you in the face would put an extra $10 in the pocket of a Republican donor, Abbott Cruz Patrick Paxton would gleefully pull the trigger themselves. Don’t listen to me....watch what they have done and are doing right now.

[Hagbard Celine 10771]

[ndawg 1242]

36 minutes ago, WBT said:

So you think Republican donors, on the whole, are profiting from this disaster?  This is far more a case of stupidity and incompetence than malfeasance.  

Even for power generators, the blow back is going to far outweigh whatever corners they had been cutting.

It's really important that we dispel the myth that a cadre of Big Cigars rule the Republican party from a smoky humidor. Rich Republicans don't give a shit if life for us devolves back into Sherwood Forest. First, they think everything is fine, because they're not personally suffering, and don't really have it in them to imagine what things are like for people who are suffering. Second, they'll always have a Sheriff of Nottingham to protect them. Their reaction to heightened instability among the lower and middle classes will only lead them to invest in better security systems, taller fences, and more powerful backup generators.

[hornmpa96 2598]

I’m curious if anyone has seen any insight into how much of the issue with Natural Gas Generators was related to supply issues as compared to issues at the actual power plant?

[SquishMitten 10402]

Only chance this is different than anything else (and actual change happens), it's going to be because this affected everyone regardless of wealth. Super rich folks lost power as well. That's not usually the case.

[Bullneck 19018]

20 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Forget it, the time has passed, that window is closed.

 

[MaybeACoordinator 8349]

15 minutes ago, SquishMitten said:

Only chance this is different than anything else (and actual change happens), it's going to be because this affected everyone regardless of wealth. Super rich folks lost power as well. That's not usually the case.

Harvey was also an equal opportunity asshole and Houston's done nothing. Can't wait for this year's thousand-year storm. 

[Brisketexan 104683]

Correct. It also happened in 2002. No, I don’t want to pay more for electricity for 10 year storms. ERCOT really fucked up, but any explanation will likely be lost on this crowd. And lol at the Highland Park graphic, and generally anytime Wanker Bob posts. 

Let’s not pay any more for electricity, even a few dollars a month.

Also, let’s suffer a disaster that will end up being the costliest in the history of the United States, per early insurance estimates.

Not sure I agree with your math there, Lou.