#ercot

[rejectingrepublicans]

#republican assholes #Cancun Cruz #ercot

[terezisexbuttpyrope]

hell state 🙃

#texas #ercot #electric reliability council of texas #texas power grid #my post

[republicansaredomesticterrorists]

#republican assholes #Cancun Cruz #ercot

[socialjusticeinamerica]

Indeed.

#republican assholes #Cancun Cruz #ercot

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Since we're heading into winter...

The Supreme Court of Texas narrowly decided Friday that sovereign immunity, which largely shields government agencies from civil lawsuits, also protects the operator of the Texas electric grid.

The 5-4 opinion will likely free the nonprofit corporation from lawsuits filed by thousands of Texans for deaths, injuries and damages following the deadly 2021 winter storm, unless lawyers find another way forward.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the power supply for most of Texas, qualifies for immunity because it “provides an essential governmental service,” Chief Justice Nathan Hecht wrote in the majority opinion. State law intended for ERCOT to have the power of an “arm of the State government,” Hecht wrote. If anyone is going to hold ERCOT accountable for its actions, Hecht wrote, it should be state regulators or the Legislature, not the courts.

Freezing temperatures gripped the state during the 2021 winter storm, straining the power supply so much that ERCOT called for cutting power to millions of homes and businesses to prevent the grid’s collapse. More than 200 people died. Experts estimated afterward that financial losses totaled between $80 billion and $130 billion, including physical damage and missed economic opportunity.

Thousands of residents accused ERCOT, power companies and distribution companies of failing to prepare for the freezing weather.

Lawyers expect the high court’s decision will allow ERCOT to be dismissed from the litigation, although it does not shield other defendants.

Attorney Mia Lorick, who represents some of those plaintiffs, said she sees only a slim possibility that lawyers could keep claims against ERCOT alive by arguing that their cases have differences that somehow skirt the sovereign immunity finding.

Majed Nachawati, whose firm is representing other plaintiffs in the related cases said, “The Texas Supreme Court’s decision is disappointing to say the least. People lost their lives and the only recourse to the citizens of Texas is to be able to go through the judicial process, and the judicial system, to try to remedy or right the wrong that occurred in this case. And if you can’t count on our judiciary to protect its citizens, I think we’re in a lot of trouble.”

Justices Jeff Boyd and John Devine, along with two others, disagreed that ERCOT has sovereign immunity. Purely private entities are clearly not sovereign, and making them so undermines the public trust, they wrote. The justices argued that “no statute designates ERCOT as a part of the government” and that courts should not be barred from hearing claims against it.

The ruling sprang from two cases filed against ERCOT. San Antonio’s municipally owned utility, CPS Energy, alleged that ERCOT mishandled the soaring price of power during the 2021 winter storm. And private equity investors at Panda Power Funds alleged that 10 years earlier ERCOT issued reports that misled them about how much power the grid needed.

ERCOT spokespersons issued a statement saying that the organization was pleased with the decision. CPS Energy said in a statement that it was disappointed but thankful that four justices agreed with the utility as it sought relief for customers. The utility said the litigation still led to “critical discussions at the highest levels that are necessary to improve our power grid and energy market.”

#us politics #news #texas #texas supreme court #ercot #the texas tribune #2023 #Electric Reliability Council of Texas #Chief Justice Nathan Hecht #Mia Lorick #Majed Nachawati #Justice Jeff Boyd #Justice John Devine #CPS Energy #winter weather #power outages #freezing #winter

[whatareyoureallyafraidof]

Ted Cruz is a clown!

#Ted Cruz #Texas #ERCOT #Green New Deal #GOP #GQP #Republican #Republicans #Ted Cruz is a clown #electricity

[hamletthedane]

“in the brightest of days in the blaze of my youth in the heat of the summer, i see her call to me:

ENERGY CONSERVATION IS AT CRITICAL LEVEL. ERCOT HAS CALLED ENERGY EMERGENCY ALERT LEVEL 2. IF CONDITIONS DON'T IMPROVE, ERCOT-MANDATED, CONTROLLED OUTAGES MAY BE NEEDED.

#Texas #ercot #I’m about to drive to Houston and connect Texas to the national power grid via some extra long cable and duct tape #if you idiots want to die for capitalism we’re gonna nationalize this shit by force

[kp777]

By Dylan Stableford and Ben Adler

Yahoo News

Tue, August 23, 2022

A day after a “1-in-1,000-year” storm dumped up to 15 inches of rain in Dallas, triggering flash floods that submerged vehicles along a highway and left at least one person dead, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday said that the state is prepared to handle “extreme weather.”

But he wouldn’t use the term climate change.

At a press conference alongside Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and other city officials, Abbott was pressed by a reporter about the impact climate change is having on Texas, including record heat, wildfires and historic drought.

“At what point do you ever discuss or have a conversation about climate change?” the reporter asked.

“So we have constant conversations about what we categorize as extreme weather,” Abbott replied. “We are dealing with more extreme weather patterns.”

Abbott noted the period between April through the end of July was the hottest on record in the history of Texas, and said that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which operates the state’s power grid, was able to handle it.

“They were able to deal with a dozen record usage demands with ease,” he said.

“We’re constantly looking at what extreme weather may lead to, whether it be power demand, extreme heat, extreme cold, heavy water or even drought,” the governor added. “We constantly focus on issues related to extreme weather, and we want to be prepared for whatever type of weather may be coming our way.”

"Can you even say climate change?" the reporter asked.

Abbott did not respond.

Despite the governor’s assertions, ERCOT has not always been ready to handle the extreme weather stemming from climate change.

In February 2021, when extremely cold temperatures arrived in much of Texas, the utility was unable to keep pace with surging demand.

Read more.

#climate change #extreme weather #dallas #texas #gregg abbott #ercot

[boobachu]

#Texas #ERCOT #Texas Standard #electrical grid #blizzard #snowmageddon

[babewavess]

𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑔 𝑑𝑎𝑖𝑙𝑦 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙

#Pokémon go #virgo #stoicism #Houston #TEXAS #ercot

[rejectingrepublicans]

#republican assholes #the simpsons #Cancun Cruz #ercot

[mon-mothmas-collar]

texas republicans are sooo funny cause they’ll kill a bunch of people in a winter storm and won’t apologize for it then when those same people are dying in a heatwave they are actively removing preventative measures to keep their citizens alive

#turn texas blue #democrat #fuck the gop #greg abbott #winter storm #Texas #texas republicans #texans stay in an energy crisis #there are blackouts almost every week here in my city #ercot

[incendiaglacies]

Fuck Abbott and Cruz. Thoughts and prayers while supporting the NRA. Don’t forget it’s not just school shootings, abortion rights on the line here. Also trans rights. And oh yeah, they nearly froze us to death last year. And after saying things are “fixed” it seems ercot still expects problems in the summer.

Vote them out. It’s not just one thing. It’s everything.

#incendia rambles #Texas politics #vote blue #roe vs Wade #ercot #uvalde

[mostlyclimatechangeweatherlog]

#it’s still hot #heat wave #texas #grid #ercot #July #2023

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Texans are cranking on the air conditioning this week amid an unusually early heat wave, setting new records for electricity demand in the state, which surpassed 75 gigawatts on Sunday and smashed the 2019 record. Texas grid operator ERCOT projects it could approach that peak again on Tuesday.

But unlike previous extreme weather events in Texas which led to deadly blackouts, the grid is holding up remarkably well this week. Several experts told CNN that it's owed in large part to strong performances from wind and solar, which generated 27 gigawatts of electricity during Sunday's peak demand -- close to 40% of the total needed.

"Texas is, by rhetoric, anti-renewables. But frankly, renewables are bailing us out," said Michael Webber, an energy expert and professor at the University of Texas at Austin. "They're rocking. That really spares us a lot of heartache and a lot of money."

Despite the Texas Republican rhetoric that wind and solar are unreliable, Texas has a massive and growing fleet of renewables. Zero-carbon electricity sources (wind, solar, and nuclear) powered about 38% of the state's power in 2021, rivaling natural gas at 42%.

This is a relatively recent phenomenon for the state.

"Wind and solar would not have been available in years in the past, so the growing capacity helps to alleviate reliance on natural gas and coal," said Jonathan DeVilbiss, operations research analyst at the US Energy Information Administration.

Not only have renewables helped keep the power on during a scorching and early heatwave, they have also helped keep costs low. Prices for natural gas and coal are high amid a worldwide energy crunch, but renewables -- powered by the wind and sun -- have no fuel cost.

"Because the price of wind and sunlight hasn't doubled in the past year like other resources, they are acting as a hedge against high fuel prices," said Joshua Rhodes, an energy researcher at UT Austin.

PEAK DEMAND DURING PEAK HEAT

Texas and other states have been sweltering in triple-digit temperatures and dangerous heat indices. Texas state climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon told CNN that San Antonio has been a particular hot spot; it recently hit 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a new pre-July record.

Texas is used to heat, but this year they're "getting August weather in May and June," Webber told CNN.

Experts said the Texas grid was built to withstand extreme heat moreso than the extreme cold brought by the deadly 2021 winter storm. But with the state now experiencing August-like temperatures in early June many questioned whether the Texas grid could withstand the longer, hotter summers fueled by climate change.

"As opposed to a winter storm, we were built for three months of 90-plus [degrees]," said Caitlin Smith, head of regulatory policy and communications at Texas-based battery storage company Jupiter Power. "Were we built for 4 months of 100-plus [degrees]? There's some uncertainty there."

If the early spikes in temperature persist this year, it could stress out the grid and power plants, Smith and Rhodes warned. As well as the grid is working right now, that could change if this summer continues to bring unrelenting heat.

"It's like the human body; heat stress is cumulative," Rhodes said. "The body has no time to recover. Power plants are like that as well, they need some time to recover."

Rhodes added that renewables have been a big help during this early surge by taking strain off the traditional thermal power plants that use coal and natural gas to keep the lights on.

Human-caused climate change is linked to rising global temperatures and extreme heat. And while it's too early to tell exactly how much climate change is to blame for the current heat wave, it's safe to assume it is a factor, said Andy Dessler who directs the Texas Center for Climate Studies at Texas A&M University.

"It's 100% certain that climate change is contributing to this," Dessler told CNN. "Everything's getting hotter. August is getting hotter; June is getting hotter. It is hot and this is the future."

OVERCROWDED TRANSMISSION LINES

Even though Texas is an oil and gas giant, renewables -- and particularly, wind -- have long been thriving there. Texas generates the most wind energy in the country: In 2020, it produced more wind electricity than Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma — the next three highest states — combined, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Solar has been a smaller portion of the state's energy mix than wind, but it is growing as well. Solar generated about 4% of electricity in Texas last summer, and is expected to grow to 7.2% this summer, EIA projections show.

Building out more solar will be important to deal with heat waves in the depths of summer, when wind speeds tend to drop, experts told CNN. That's because if it's really hot out, there's a good chance the sun is beating down.

But Rhodes and Webber pointed to infrastructure issues limiting the potential of renewables; Texas needs more transmission lines to carry energy generated by renewables to customers. Rhodes pointed to ERCOT projects showing higher solar numbers than what was actually being used; a casualty of over-crowded power lines that can't let the power through to consumers.

"About half of the solar that could be produced is not being produced right now because there's no more room on the lines," Rhodes said. "The numbers for renewables would probably be higher if we had the transmission capacity to move them around."

Wind and solar have natural variability as well; solar can't generate energy during nighttime, and wind turbines don't turn when the wind isn't blowing. That is spurring a big focus on developing more massive batteries that can store and deploy renewable energy when the wind isn't blowing, and the sun isn't shining.

"It does keep growth of renewables strong; it allows you to firm up that renewable capacity," Smith said.

#us politics #news #cnn #texas #ercot #green energy #solar power #wind turbines #climate change #climate crisis #global warming #tx #2022 #Michael Webber #Jonathan DeVilbiss #US Energy Information Administration #Joshua Rhodes #John Nielsen-Gammon #Caitlin Smith #jupiter power #Andy Dessler

[trupowur]

𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀 𝗨𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿-𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱. The second anniversary of the Uri winter storm disaster is around the corner, and the agencies in charge of the power grid are still scrambling to implement all the tasks and changes the state’s legislature put into place as a response to the deadly blackout. Read more cstu.io/dea051

#TruPowur #report #Deregulation #Electricity #ERCOT #PowerOutage