Winter Storms, Summer Heat, and our 3rd World Electric System

[Chop]

So, is everybody comfortable now that our State's electric grid, generation facilities, and fuel sources have been properly winterized, such that Snowmeggeddon couldn't happen again?

 

[Monahorns]

I wish. They have incentivized reliability a little bit I think. That will help increase reliable sources in the future but not this quickly I don't think.

 

[SabreHorn]

Living in Houston, we are stuck with Center Point, who needs over $2 billion in infrastructure replacement/repair. I was without electricity for 13 days after either Rita or Ike. We had workers from all over the country here. I talked to workers from Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida. All said the same thing - "We have never seen such an old, crappy infrastructure anywhere we have been."

That's ok because Center Point keeps paying dividends.

 

[Crockett]

Something good came of all the attention. We made political fundraising a lot easier for agents of inaction like Dan Patrick and Gregg Abbott.

 

[utahorn]

This is one area where Abbot / Patrick are vulnerable. What have they done to fix this issue in Texas? I voted for them but could not imagine Beto (Beta) doing better.

 

[Crockett]

There would be trade-offs with Beto, but he wouldn't let the utility industry and regulators proceed as if nothing happened. Regulation can have unintended consequences... at least Patrick and Abbott prevented those.

 

[Monahorns]

There would be trade-offs with Beto, but he wouldn't let the utility industry and regulators proceed as if nothing happened. Regulation can have unintended consequences... at least Patrick and Abbott prevented those.

No. Beto would double down even quadruple down on wind and solar further pushing out all the reliable energy sources. The next winter storm would be complete and total disaster, the grid could even shut down. We would all be dead. Don't mess around and get Beto in charge. He will be doing kick flips and ollies while we all freeze and starve to death.

 

[Hideo Gump Jr.]

 

[Crockett]

No. Beto would double down even quadruple down on wind and solar further pushing out all the reliable energy sources. The next winter storm would be complete and total disaster, the grid could even shut down. We would all be dead. Don't mess around and get Beto in charge. He will be doing kick flips and ollies while we all freeze and starve to death.

Beto..even if he wins will be governing a conservative state with a conservative legislature. He can't take the state left. He can take it off the far right rail it's on now.

 

[Horn6721]

Croc
How is that "far right rail" doing for the state's economy?
Compared to any of the other top 10 states( of course we know Florida, another far right state is doing well too)?

 

[Garmel]

Croc
How is that "far right rail" doing for the state's economy?
Compared to any of the other top 10 states( of course we know Florida, another far right state is doing well too)?

When the left says anything is far right it usually means, you know, people being and acting normal.

 

[Chop]

The infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth. Texas is a first class state. We need a first class electrical grid and supply system. It’s a glaring weakness and failure.

Next up—more water sources and new lakes.

The leadership is reactive and not proactive.

 

[guy4321]

Short-term, one year, I don't expect it to get 10 degrees in Austin this winter. Long-term, several years, no they haven't done anything to fix the problem(s). It's what Beto will focus on.

 

[Chop]

Short-term, one year, I don't expect it to get 10 degrees in Austin this winter. Long-term, several years, no they haven't done anything to fix the problem(s). It's what Beto will focus on.

If he was smart, that’s what he would focus on. But instead, I think his focus will be squarely on gun control and renewable energy.

 

[Monahorns]

Beto..even if he wins will be governing a conservative state with a conservative legislature. He can't take the state left. He can take it off the far right rail it's on now.

Leftists don't abide by constitutions and precedent. They do everything they can get away with. And many of the Republican politicians in Texas are bootlickers. They would follow whoever is in charge, especially if they are being pressured by the governor and media.

You f-ck around with Beto, you'll find out just how much destruction the Left is capable of.

 

[Crockett]

Having watched Donald Trump's boots get a lone star licking might throw you off. It's not power in itself that they love ..it's deference to the reflexive right wingers that determine Texas Primary outcomes. Any routine courtesy extended to powerful Democrats can fatally impact their base.

 

[Monahorns]

I don't know what to tell you in many areas of politics in Texas the Rs are very weakly conservative and in some areas not even.

 

[Statalyzer]

The infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth. Texas is a first class state. We need a first class electrical grid and supply system. It’s a glaring weakness and failure.

Power infrastructure seemed to have kept pace enough as long as half of it doesn't freeze over. We came close to major shutdowns in 1989 and 2011 and were warned and did nothing. Then we had the big problem we were previously warned about in 2020, and still have nothing. Consider how close we were to having the entire state in full-collapse that would have taken weeks or months to recover from, the lack of action is astounding. Need winterization for sure, probably need more nuclear if we can somehow get it, and also need a system whereby large consumers of wasted energy in an emergency can get shut off (all the empty office towers, malls, sports facilities, etc, that were draining tons of electricity 24/7 away from people huddled in their homes while building owners and facilities managers did nothing).

 

[Monahorns]

Statalyzer, we need to replace solar and wind with coal and natural gas. Nuclear is too expensive right now strictly due to regulations. We have to get the regulations pared down to a reasonable level, then we can start building nuclear capacity and development new feed stocks.

But wind and solar are a death sentence when it is really hot or really cold, which is precisely when we can't accept unreliability and expense.

 

[Monahorns]

I put this on the global warming thread but the information is too important not to spread here.

Ep. 223 Climate Scientist David Legates Gives a Contrarian View on Climate Change

Listen and read all the links.

 

[Sangre Naranjada]

probably need more nuclear

Definitely need more nuclear. 3 or 4 more STNPs should be on the drawing board already.

 

[Chop]

We’re a First Class State with some lingering Third World characteristics.

 

[Horn6721]

Abbott has guaranteed we won't have a repeat of large scale outages.
Dangerous thing to do with elections coming up

 

[Chop]

While he has yet to announce anything approaching a coherent platform, somehow I doubt McConaughey would have sat on his a$$ for a year, doing next to nothing for our State’s electrical system—like our present regime has done.

 

[Chop]

Beto would probably do counter-productive things—like shut down a lot of fossil fuel generation, and curtailing drilling.

I think McConaughey grew up in oil and gas country (Uvalde and Longview). His dad ran an oilfield supply company at one point. Not the sort of background that would make somebody anti oil and gas industry.

 

[Chop]

And I’m all for West Texas landowners making $$$ off of wind turbine leases. I just want reliability for our State’s electrical system.

 

[nashhorn]

Did Biden really raise oil lease rates by 50%? Wife just showed me something on that.

 

[iatrogenic]

Maybe Beto could put us on the same track as California’s Libs. Just shut off power when the wind blows.

Could Beto be worse than Abbott? Is Biden exponentially worse than Trump?

 

[Mr. Deez]

Beto..even if he wins will be governing a conservative state with a conservative legislature. He can't take the state left. He can take it off the far right rail it's on now.

There'd be some pretty nasty things. First, he'd appoint crackpots to the judiciary if there were vacancies and as TEA Commissioner, which would lead to the Senate rejecting his nominees and leaving vacancies. Second, he'd push to expand Medicaid and green energy. He'd do so by vetoing bills (like the budget) that didn't contain his priorities. If that happened, you could see government shutdowns and some pretty ugly moments until he ultimately caved in.

 

[SabreHorn]

Did Biden really raise oil lease rates by 50%?

Biden released production in a big splash that the idiots in the media and the dumbasses in the general public think that he is improving his attitude and becoming more pro domestic oil.

Truth is Biden's puppeteers used the 50 million number to an unsuspecting populous that is too ignorant to understand that number represents two and one half days use in the US. Not even a fraction of what needs to be done.