Texas starts rolling blackouts

[rdking647]

Not enough power generating capacity. 1/2 the wind turbines are frozen

They are doing rolling blackouts across the whole state.
It 10 degrees with a -10 windchill in austin. Can’t tell how much snow we got it’s blowing all around and I’m not going outside to measure it

[sprinkleeninow]

1. Where've I been.... That frigid? Yikes!

Thinking of y'all, keeping y'all in my heart of hearts! 💖

[MissB]

2. That's smart

I mean it sucks that they have to do them but better to have some power at some point in the day than no power at all.

[theneworiginal]

41. Tell the Republicans to exhale all at once.

Maybe they could scream, 'No climate change" or "Shut down the government" all at once. That should do the trick.

That amount of hot air could melt a polar cap.

Oops, it already is!

[ashredux]

3. Mine out since 2:30 am

[Mersky]

4. I went outside a few mins ago

Don’t tell anyone, but I had to get my power bank out of the car. Anyways, looked like 5-6 inches judging from how the step down to our driveway.

We’ve been without power for 3.5 hours.

[Klaralven]

5. Energy Trader: We've Officially Hit "Holy S*it Levels"

Update (1715ET): As the day has progressed, amid deteriorating weather forecasts and no let up in demand (despite ERCOT's urgings), our trader contact at a Houston energy firm sums the situation up as eloquently and succinctly as ever:

"we've officially hit the 'Holy Fucking Shit Levels' here..."

As he shows in the tables below, the Day Ahead clear for energy has basically gone offer-less...

Wholesale power for delivery Sunday was trading at anywhere from $3,000 to $7,000 a megawatt-hour in some places, triple the records set in some places Saturday and a staggering 2,672% increase from Friday at Texas’s West hub. Average spot power prices were just shy of $1,000 per megawatt hour during peak hours Sunday morning, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

And, the situation in Texas doing from bad to worse: Weather forecast models suggest the polar vortex will continue pouring Arctic air into much of the central US through Feb. 20.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/energy-emergency-texas-power-provider-warns-rotating-outages-cold-weather-tests-limits-grid

[Klaralven]

35. Note also that Texas is sort of on its own

Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)

http://www.ercot.com/

[duforsure]

6. Just finished the fourth blackout,

Since 1:50 am , lasting around an hour now. Got other sources for power (solar generator & gas stove). Stay safe everyone, and stay home. Still snowing some. Ice everywhere. 15 degree's. 100 miles NW of Houston.

[herding cats]

7. I haven't had power in more than 2 hours. It's 6.8 degrees outside here.

45 in my house and dropping. I wish I hadn't had my heat down on 58 now. I was trying not to strain the grid.

[brer cat]

11. Sending you some warmth

[herding cats]

25. Thank you! ❤️

I'm about to just go back to bed and hide under the blankets.

[Hortensis]

28. Gosh yes. Plug stuff into chargers for when the power comes on, too.

[sarge43]

8. This is bizarre

Here in central NH, the temp is right at 32F/0C.

Yeah, do not go outside. Stay safe.

[sarcasmo]

43. -8 below zero here in Wisconsin, 30 below with the windchill.

[sarge43]

47. And here we thought 2021 would be better

Sending you good thoughts and vibes that your power stays on.

[sarcasmo]

51. With climate change we now get 2-3 weeks straight of this below zero garbage.

[sarge43]

53. We had our turn of sub zero last week

and Hell Month, March, is yet to come.

I'm seriously considering a psychotic break

[Liberal In Texas]

9. 8 degrees now. Power out at some point overnight, not sure how long.

Tankless water heater is outside, with power out pipes froze up and the pipe heaters haven't been able to thaw them out so far, so no hot water.

I hate this weather.

[mainer]

10. Wind turbines can freeze?

We have them in maine. Haven’t heard of that happening here.

[SnowCritter]

12. It's probably the lubrication in the gearboxes

If it's not made for extreme cold it will likely freeze.

If you're in an area where snow and cold isn't "normal", stay home if you can. Where I'm at it's currently -26 (don't know what the wind chill is).

I couldn't go anywhere if I wanted to - my car didn't start yesterday and it was "warmer" then. Fortunately I've got the day off.

[onlyadream]

13. So now Republicans will use this as another reason to not go green. Nt

[gab13by13]

22. If power goes out you can't run a gas furnace.

[onlyadream]

37. The power is coming from wind turbines.

If coming from the traditional fossil fuel power generating stations then power would still be on (unless ice takes lines down, which can happen no matter how the energy is made).

[Klaralven]

16. And snow or ice on solar panels reduces generation.

[Mariana]

46. During an ice storm, they get covered with ice just like everything else does. nt.

[mainer]

58. Canadian wind turbines

They have “cold weather package” options that Texas probably didn’t think they needed.

[Lonestarblue]

14. I'm in northwest Austin, and it looks like over 6 inches of snow here.

It may be more since that was the only spot I could reach from the door. The mound on the patio table looks much higher than 6 inches. No blackout so far. I’m all electric so have no other source of heat. Fortunately, I have a warm down coat if the power goes out for awhile and it gets too cold inside.

[Smackdown2019]

15. Winter finally

This winter is not normal.... it's now February and we finally got a true taste of winter.....

[Johnny2X2X]

17. No power, no heat

Isn’t this dangerous? You need electricity for the furnace to run. And what about some homes in TX that might not even have a furnace?

[gab13by13]

20. I have a furnace here in Pa.

and I also installed a 30,000 BTU gas heater in the basement that can run without power. The pilot heats up the heater and it still throws a lot of heat without a fan.

I understand the bad situation in Texas. Hopefully the water pipes don't freeze up, I went through that mess at my dad's house replacing cracked water lines in a crawl space. I wish they had those snap on quick connect fittings back then like they have today.

[marlakay]

57. Yes worried about my daughter electric heat

No fireplace, she said power off and on all night. She is in San Antonio.

[gab13by13]

18. I still need to hear more about this.

If the wind turbines were running I don't see why they would freeze up. Do they make turbines differently in warm weather areas? Did ice accumulate on the blades? Where are the turbine experts here? I have 1 car that I have to leave outside my garage, when it gets around zero or below I have a nice tarp I throw over the car and it starts in the morning.

Being cold sukks, hang in there. I have a 30,000 BTU gas heater in my basement that I use when it gets really cold or for when the power goes out because it heats the basement and the floor area.

[Klaralven]

34. Frozen wind turbines hamper Texas power output, state's electric grid operator says

Nearly half of Texas' installed wind power generation capacity has been offline because of frozen wind turbines in West Texas, according to Texas grid operators.

Wind farms across the state generate up to a combined 25,100 megawatts of energy. But unusually moist winter conditions in West Texas brought on by the weekend's freezing rain and historically low temperatures have iced many of those wind turbines to a halt.

As of Sunday morning, those iced turbines comprise 12,000 megawatts of Texas' installed wind generation capacity, although those West Texas turbines don't typically spin to their full generation capacity this time of year.

Texas power outages:Rolling blackouts possible amid record demand for energy

Fortunately for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which 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.

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/02/14/historic-winter-storm-freezes-texas-wind-turbines-hampering-electric-generation/4483230001/

Just like airplane wings, the turbine blades become covered with ice. This hampers aerodynamic efficiency, and I'd guess that the weight is enough that the operators need to stop the turbines in order to prevent damage.

There appear to be heaters that can be added to the surface to prevent icing.

Alternatively, the blades can be sprayed with deicer fluid from helicopters. But I'd expect that this is costly and may have some environmental impact.

[3825-87867]

19. The only ray of "warmth" for Texas is that hopefully

Biden won't let the people of Texas have to deal with this themselves. He will make sure any Federal help will be there ASAP -
unlike the uncaring , ignorant POS that preceded him!

And they wanted to keep someone who wouldn't do squat to help them. Maybe they should be reminded after this is over.

[Mersky]

21. The power has yet to roll back on. It's been 5 hours.

I’m in Austin. Why are we taking the brunt of the rolling blackouts? My area is marked as being out for blackouts since a little after 2am, and not equipment damage/repair.

It’s 9°F. We’re managing in my house, but I’m dismayed to say the least.

[JI7]

23. How often does Texas get this type of weather ?

[UpInArms]

26. I lived in Austin in the early 90s

I started on my tan in February ...

A friend drove his kids 2 hours away just so they could see snow ...

Try to stay warm, Texas ...

[DFW]

33. This extreme? Almost never.

Where I live now, it is already unseasonably cold, but that means maybe -10°C, or +14°F. But that's not unheard-of for western Germany.

[sarcasmo]

44. Climate change is real....

[trc]

36. We might get a day with subfreezing temps, maybe two, strung together

But this is vastly different than anything I have seen in my 30 years in Central Texas. We may end up with over 10 days of subfreezing weather. Nothing above freezing until late this coming Friday. The problem is that older houses in the south are not built for this type of cold, not to mention the number of mobile homes. Water pipes will freeze and break and the folks living in those homes will by and large not have the money to get the repairs done or their land lord will kick them out then worry about repairing the pipes as money comes available. This has disaster written all over it, no joke this is bad.

[blogslut]

50. Texas is huge

In the panhandle, winter ice storms and blizzards aren't that unusual. What's different is this frigid stuff affecting south and east Texas.

[splano]

24. I'm in Dallas

I live in far north Dallas and have been without power for about an hour now. It’s currently 8F degrees outside with a windchill of -12F degrees.

A few blocks from our house is a Marriott that we can see lit up like the 4th of July. We were able to grab a room there as a backup should power not be restored timely. The rate was ridiculous though. Hotel prices are starting to climb.

[safeinOhio]

27. Here is a tip for you from us Eskimos.

Don't let your water pipes freeze, let a little tickle run all of the time, it'll help. Keep up with the snow in the driveway. much easier to shovel 2 inches than 8. Don't run a generator in or real close to the house.
good luck.

[Liberal In Texas]

30. Well, nobody has a snow shovel. LOL

I remember when I moved here from Nebraska a friend saw the snow shovel that got packed in the moving van and was completely baffled about what it was.

Yes, we are familiar with keeping water running as it does freeze on occasion in the winter.

As far as the driveway goes? My philosophy is God put it there, God will take it away. By next weekend it should be pretty much all gone.

[safeinOhio]

39. Many years ago I stayed in a motel near Dallas.

Woke up and there was a little snow, so I got out my long handle snow scraper and cleaned off my car. Several people came up and asked about it, as they had never seen one.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

32. Hi, the word "Eskimo" is a slur for many Inuit. I encourage you to rethink the use of it.

[safeinOhio]

40. Thanks, never thought of that.

[A HERETIC I AM]

29. Texas prides itself on being an "Energy Island"

From what I have read, the amount of electricity that can be transmitted into the state from elsewhere is minimal, so they can not rely on extra capacity in Oklahoma or Louisiana, for example.

Not working out so well in this situation, I don’t think.

[LazySusanNot]

49. And this from our southern neighbor on Thursday...

https://www.ctvnews.ca/mexico-cancels-offer-to-send-electricity-to-texas-1.604143

"MEXICO CITY - Mexico said Thursday it was temporarily suspending an offer to provide electricity to Texas to help the U.S. state weather an ice storm that forced rolling blackouts, because of severe cold in Mexico's own territory."
"Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission had said Wednesday it had agreed to transmit 280 megawatts of electricity to Texas."
"But on Thursday, the commission said it was temporarily suspending the transfer because below-freezing temperatures in northern Mexico have caused some damage to the generating capacity of its own plants, causing some power outages in several parts of Chihuahua state and a reduction of about 3,800 megawatts in generation."

My Dad in DFW also mentioned hearing this morning that some of the attempts to restart certain areas of the grid that had been shut down have failed, lengthening the planned on-then-off rollout schedule.

What a mess! Thanks for posting.

[SergeStorms]

31. To all our Texas friends...

Please be safe! This will pass, although when it's happening to you it seems like it never will. This is so abnormal. We love you and need you all, so get through this any way you can. Again, this will pass. Please be safe, and please check on any elderly neighbors you may have. And don't forget your pets, livestock etc. If you all pull together you'll get through this.

[ananda]

38. It's 8 degrees here in NW Austin and SO white!

I love it. However, I'm not looking forward
to the rolling blackout part. I can't wait till
that's over.

[LazySusanNot]

42. I talked to my folks in DFW just now.

Last edited Tue Feb 16, 2021, 02:37 AM - Edit history (1)

Dad’s 85 and Mom’s 83. They are well prepared for the freeze. Hot coffee is going and Dad is already mad and yelling at Princess Lindsey G. on the TV. They are doing fine by that standard. Blackout around 1:30 am last night for a little over an hour. More expected.

Dad mentioned seeing a piece on local news today regarding protecting exterior wall plumbing (more specifically exterior hose bibs). According to him, if your house was built 2000 and after, it should have the Freeze Protected hose bib required by code (freeze resistant faucet). Protecting that bib with a Dolly Parton style outer insulation cover for the hose bib is (according to them) adequate. If you have older style bib which needs additional protection, make sure that whatever insulation you use to protect the bib cannot become wet and turn into a ball of ice. They suggested first using plastic to seal the faucet from moisture. Next wrap insulation material or towels, small blanket, old jackets, etc. into a protective package around the faucet and associated pipe. Make sure the wrap covers snug at the wall and out beyond the end of the faucet. Finish with an outer layer of plastic to keep it all dry and protected from moisture. (I would add that insulating is not about wrapping the towel or blanket "super tightly" but about "layering" to leave entrapped air inside. These layers of air are what actually do the "insulating&quot .

Also, they cautioned Seniors especially from going out in these conditions. It's dangerous in many ways being out over the next few days for any age - so stay in and stay safe if you can.

Here’s warm hugs going out to all chilly DU’ers in the country!

[LiberalArkie]

45. We get down to 0 tonight, 7 right now with 6" snow.

Central Arkansas.. High efficiency mini-split heat pumps. Propane space heater and outside 8W propane gen.

[MagickMuffin]

48. On our 3rd one wind chill -17

The 1st & 2nd didn't last very long. But now daylight is amongst us this 3rd is going on for over an hour.

[LazySusanNot]

55. Thinking of you and your kitty children this morning

Here's hoping they are all warm and toasty in their new modified breezeway quarters. Lots of extra snacks and "poor babies" are in order for the next few days.

Sending virtual warmth and hugs to all the cold DU'er's today.

[lindysalsagal]

52. But the globe's weather systems aren't being destabilized by global warming, no.

Everything's fine. Nothing to see, here.

[dalton99a]

54. Kick

[TheFarseer]

56. Brace for Republicans claiming

It’s because Biden stopped fracking and getting rid of coal. Because why not?