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Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

theclimatebrink.com · 1,048 words · saved by 1 readers

The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out power to millions of Houstonians, and a week later, hundreds of thousands of Houstonians still hadn’t had their power restored. It might seem that these two events are completely different — one was a winter storm that caused a blackout by knocking out the natural gas supply, while the other one is a hurricane that knocked out the power distribution system. But the root cause of these two incidents is actually the same. To understand what’s going on, you need to realize that keeping the power on is incredibly valuable to society and, when the power goes out, the damages are enormous. The Uri blackout cost well north of $100 billion. I have yet to see an estimate of the cost of Hurricane Beryl, but I’m guessing it’s also going to be eye popping. Share But here’s the key fact: these costs are not paid by energy co

Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape? A lesson in free markets and the failure of our elected leaders Andrew Dessler Jul 17, 2024 43 18 13 Share Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out power to millions of Houstonians, and a week later, hundreds of thousands of Houstonians still hadn’t had their power restored. Subscribe It might seem that these two events are completely different — one was a winter storm that caused a blackout by knocki

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