Could have been caused by someone fighting it. Remember anti- windmill arms have come a long way since Don Quoxite. Or maybe the
guys who maintained it got better jobs making the solar panels.
Contributor
Could have been caused by someone fighting it. Remember anti- windmill arms have come a long way since Don Quoxite. Or maybe the
guys who maintained it got better jobs making the solar panels.
Contributor
Wind turbines work fine for power generation in Antarctica. Much more total power was lost due to the gas transmission facilities failing in the cold. The failure is largely one of people. Extreme weather events are a predictable consequence of ongoing climate change; some choose to ignore the changing likelihood of extreme events.
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It amazes me how many people do not know where the street shut off or the house shut off valve are located.Originally Posted by George Yetka
Another problem is some places might not have "freeze line" codes. Then there is the problem of builders not bothering to follow the codes.
One of the problems experienced in Texas is a lot of the natural gas lines are above ground. The moisture in the gas freezes and clogs the lines.
Many places were windmills are used for power generation have heaters in them. Texas power companies didn't think they would need them.
Even the coal fired power plants had problems with the coal storage piles freezing.
Of course the politicians made excuses and even blamed things that have nothing to do with the real problem trying to cover their backsides.
jtk
"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
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No I'm not with ERCOT, I've just noticed some people trying to blame the power outage in Texas on renewable energy when the real problem is not planning for an entirely predictable event. Of course idle windmills are much more visible than an idle thermal power plant unless you know what to look for. Maybe your electrical bill wasn't affected but there are law suits over the price gouging.
"A Texas power retailer was hit with a more than $1 billion lawsuit on Monday filed by Texas residents who accused the company of price gouging in the face of a deadly winter storm that knocked many of the state's power supply facilities offline.The Dallas Morning News reported that a class action lawsuit filed in Houston district court accuses Griddy, a Texas company that is one of several providing power to state residents in the state's unique energy grid, of sharply raising prices for thousands of users in the face of the storm.
Texas residents reported sky-high bills in the days following last week's storm as frozen natural gas plants and other facilities meant the supply of available power was sharply reduced."
Member
I can't speak for turbines on the South TX coastal plains, but TX turbines North and West of the Edwards and up thru the Llano all have heated nacelles.
I watched media reports of all 4" of Snowmagedon, the outages, and doom. Walked outside to await the, uuuhmm, ...end? After awhile I showered and drove to work. Again, not trying to be oblivious to other's plight, but a lot of responders are not in TX and the alphabet media may have overdone it ... just a bit.
Last edited by Malcolm McLeod; 02-24-2021 at 6:57 PM. Reason: typo
Having lived in that part of the country the most likely answer is, most houses in Texas are built on a slab of concrete. They were not built with sustained freezing temperatures in mind. Pipes are often run through the slab or in the ceilings. They do not have crawl spaces nor basements. The only main water shutoff is out by the street next to the water meter. I owned a house in South Carolina and there as well the only main water shut off was in the front yard by the water meter and you needed a special wrench.
Lee Schierer
USNA '71
Go Navy!
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YeeeHAW!! Lawsuits for ALL! I'm 90% that this was the provider to the victim I saw interviewed. The one that she said warned her to change plans. Cuz' her contract allows variable rates.
Blame who you wish ...politicians, or BIG OIL, or BIG POWER, or even little power (Griddy). Believe the media - hook, line, and sinker - or not.
Come visit. Some of us are still here.
Out.
Member
You left out the part where she _tried_ to change plans, but the other providers said No. They have to pay wholesale prices too. :^)
Griddy does not charge for electricity per se, they charge a minimal monthly fee to connect you to whatever is the cheapest wholesaler at the moment. Its basically a pass-through. So now _they_ should be on the hook for other peoples foolishness? Maybe you can tell that Im not in favor of gambling of this sort unless youve got a really big bankroll. Ah, deregulation. Im shocked, _shocked_ that there is gambling going on in this establishment...
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Much good info in here and I will add my firsthand account as well:
1.) This was truly a "Once in a century event". Here in Central TX, we get one or two ice storms a year which typically last a day or so. In Houston, even less. So, the majority of homes simply are not weatherized against a week's worth of sub-freezing temperatures. I expected that if the power went out, it would be a rolling blackout, which we have had in the past. Power out for an hour or two, then comes right back on. Nobody expected to be without power for as long as we were.
2.) ERCOT was woefully under-prepared to deal with an event like this. According to the latest news, we were something like 4 minutes away from crashing the ENTIRE STATE'S power grid. Hospitals, law enforcement, emergency services, everything. How any modern organization can allow itself to be put in that kind of jeopardy by simply a cold spell is beyond me but hopefully, our legislature will take action to prevent this from happening ever again.
3.) I agree that folks ought to know how to disconnect their own water at the street. I have owned one of those tools for years but most folks don't. Several of my neighbors ended up using it and were glad I had it.
So, it might seem funny to people who live in other parts of the country that 6" of snow paralyzed Texas but we just weren't prepared for it and don't have the equipment/infrastructure for when it does happen. And typical Texas, it was 80F today.
Erik
Ex-SCM and Felder rep
Contributor
Try finding that meter when it's covered in snow. Good luck! It's the same with hurricanes here. When one is even remotely predicted to affect us, I stock up on gas for generator. If I don't burn it in generator, it goes into cars. Two weeks ago, bought 20 gallons at $2.05 a gallon for generator. Today same gas costs $2.53 a gallon. Because I didn't use it in generator, I made $0.48 per gallon, as we are now using it in the cars and truck.
Last edited by Bruce Wrenn; 02-24-2021 at 9:44 PM.
Member
Round up the usual suspects.
Contributor
Here in Minnesota the street shutoffs for city water are definitely not designed for use by homeowners. For starters for a lot of houses the access to the shutoff is buried under dirt. We don't have boxes like down south, but rather a pipe that runs into the ground down to the buried valve. The actual valve is well below ground level and requires a special long wrench to reach. The city is called if the water has to be shut off at the street. They have maps of where the valves should be and use metal rods to poke around until they hit the cap on the pipe.
Water meters are inside houses here. There is typically a valve on either side of the meter that can be turned off. A big issue is older houses usually have gate valves that are corroded so they won't close completely.
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The only way people know things are by learning things. What class teaches you home ownership?
Member
Like Erik, I live in the Austin area. These homes are not built for long term freezing temperatures. Main waterlines are typically about a foot below grade but did not freeze. Exterior hose bibs, especially in uninsulated garage walls, froze quickly causing leaks upon thawing. Power outages allowed pool pumps, filters and plumbing to freeze as well. Austin has grown significantly in the last 20 years drawing people from all around the country and many are not familiar with how homes are built.
Even the trees had a difficult time. The NW side of town had a bad ice storm and our neighborhood is filled with live oaks. They have leaves this time of year. At the moment you can’t walk six houses down any street without passing a pile of limbs that would fill the back of a long bed truck. My neighbor had a 14” caliper tree which split straight down the trunk from the first “V.” It is just a stump now. It reminds my of hurricane damage while growing up in Florida.
Last edited by John Goodin; 02-25-2021 at 4:14 AM.
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It would be a good time to learn from this. Homeowners need to look at their vulnerabilities and plan for them. I think plumbers are going to be really busy as well as swimming pool people.
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