Guest opinion: The Texas power crisis: What happened, why it happened, and what it means for the future of energy policy

Posted by pogo
a resident of Woodside: other
on Mar 15, 2021 at 7:00 am
pogo is a registered user.

Much of what the author states is undeniable.

However, a key descriptor for the Texas weather that caused this catastrophe was "unprecedented." While it is wise to plan for catastrophic events, the hard truth is that planning for EVERY possible adverse event is wasteful, especially when there are other more immediate spending priorities. There is no full-proof system. We wear seat belts and our cars have air bags but that still doesn't offer absolute protection in a crash. The power grid is no different. You make reasonable assumptions and invest accordingly.

So yes, many Texans paid a price for the extreme (once a century, according to experts) cold that impacted their energy grid for a period of four days. But those same Texans also benefited with significantly lower energy costs - especially compared with California - for DECADES. Was that trade-off worth it? Well, if you were a Texan outside of the Houston area that wasn't impacted by the grid failure, probably. And even if you were impacted, perhaps you those savings over the years was a reasonable trade-off.

But that's a question that Texans will answer in the coming elections.

Posted by West Menlo Mom
a resident of Menlo Park: University Heights
on Mar 15, 2021 at 1:14 pm
West Menlo Mom is a registered user.

Pogo - a similar weather event occurred in 2011 with recommendations made to harden energy infrastructure (inexpensive fixes to prevent freezing coal piles, and gas well-heads etc). Also, it was not just 4 days -- it was closer to 7 days without power in freezing temperature with many people also losing running water. In fact, one month later people are still affected by boil water orders and even lack of water one due to broken pipes and busy plumbers.