Power Outages

To my knowledge, wind generators require a stable grid in order to synchronize and generate into. Also possible that ice build-up could be the culprit ? John T.

To my knowledge, "newyorknewstimes.com" has noth "Fortunately for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, hich manages the state's electric grid, the storm's gusty winds are spinning the state's unfrozen coastal turbines at a higher rate than expected, helping to offset some of the power generation losses because of the icy conditions (in west texas)."

All the turbines here in ontario have a "cold weather pack" that keeps the generators from freezing up in ice storms etc. The Texans didn't buy that option - - and the generators froze up

We got a CG telephone message a little while ago asking us to minimize electrical usage , the cold has put a strain on the system . Not much we can do , the only major user here is the water heater . We heat with wood and use a couple of fans , but that ain't much - and every single bulb in the house is LED so ... I pity my neighbor who has a heat pump . Likely with auxiliary electric elements .

Only if you ignore the facts that the wind generators have blade icing problems and the solar panels are covered with snow . But then you libs never met a fact that you couldn't ignore . Unless you twist it to fit your agenda .

Damn, you're dumb.

"> That is a HUGE amount of gas capacity offline, about 30% of total

F*ck you too buttercup .

Sounds likely. They're cowboys, frontiersmen. They can get along without electricity until it gets warmer. They can heat the yard by burning cattle carcasses.

There's probably local Texas coverage about this, but I cringe at the huge number of cattle (and lots of other animals) who are dying out in the cold...

They don't spin up too well when they're covered with ice. Also there aren't enough illegals to shovel the snow off solar arrays.

Funny thin about coal fired plants. As long as you have a big pile of coal in the backyard you're good to go. Snow, ice, ruptured gaslines, and so on don't mean nothing.

I hadn't thought about that. Fwiw, for my "joke" about burning carcasses, I was only thinking about those they slaughtered for food.

Probably not that many cattle dying, at least in Texas. After all, cattle are out in the open in the Dakotas. The cattle either won't gain weight or will actually lose weight keeping warm. Ranchers in the Nebraska Sandhills aim for March calving time.

An article from John Hinderacker on the economics of electrical power in Texas.

I remember in one summer the power company wanted us to conserve power. Later they said we conserved too much and wanted a rate increase.

I dunno Ralph , Entergy's rates are pretty good - and haven't increased for some time now . We're paying about $.10/Kwhr with all taxes and fees included . Our power here comes from a hydro plant on the White River about 35 miles north of us . IMO they take too wide an easement for the lines - a strip clearcut thru the woods - but then we don't get many lines downed by trees .

Years ago I had a friend at the EPA assigned to looking into unregulated generators used for backup. Backup generators were proliferating with unreliable sources of electricity coming on stream.

Where & when was that ? I don't doubt that back-up generators have proliferated - - but I strongly doubt that the _cause_ is grid _generation_ reliability. < not the same as transmission / distribution reliability >

In my rural area, I'd guess that ~ every small farm has a PTO generator < or something better >. In my little burg of ~ 80 homes I'd guess that about half have some sort of back-up generator - mostly small portable units but a few folks have the permanent stand-by units with auto-start & such. ... which is what I will spring-for if & when my trusty little 20 + year-old 5 kw Honda ever dies. John T.

I never had anything to do with cattle but when it got below zero we'd feed out more hay for the horses and mules. Normally we would figure 1/3 bale per head but we'd double up for severe weather. They could get into the woods which helped to cut the wind.

Our rates in NC are about the same. Somewhere around 10 to 12 cents/kwh. OUr electric bill is around $ 150 to $ 200 per month for just the wife and myslef. We have a heat pump for heat and air. Also have our own well. In the city some are paying close to that just for the city water.

The power company around here does not do much tree trimming any more, so in areas that have lots of ice they have power outges. Where I am in the country I have not been without power for very long at a time in the