> Texas
replyThat’s because there is no effective regulation of the state’s power industry. Since they’re (mostly) isolated from the national grid, they aren’t required to listen to FERC, who told them repeatedly that they should winterize their power plants. And a state-level, the regulators are all chosen by the Governor, who receives huge contributions from the energy industry, so he’s in no rush to force them to pay for improvements.
The real irony was the following summer during a heatwave, when they also experienced blackouts. Texas energy: not designed for extreme cold, not designed for extreme heat. Genius!
I miss the food in Texas, but that’s about it.
Same thing happened in south Texas last year. Years of deferred maintenance on transmission lines resulted in almost two weeks of power outages from two major storms, that could have largely been avoided. The utility provider is mostly allowed to regulate itself (while donating to the campaigns of the dominant political party), and allowed to keep excess profits/return dividends to shareholders, rather than re-invest in infrastructure. There is very little regulatory structure or checks in place to ensure the grid is being maintained. And there have essentially been no consequences, other than an apology and excuses, with an attempt to raise delivery rates even higher. As a home owner, its on me to bear the additional cost of a backup generator, because I can’t rely on the state to regulate the utility to provide the service I’m forced to pay them for.
replyThe energy industry doesn't really benefit from the lack of requirements--they could just pass the costs along.
replyRather, it's the typical Republican approach--reduce costs, never mind the safety systems.