Austin Energy shuts off power to major industrial users

[Klaralven]

Austin Energy's biggest customers – industrial users like Samsung, NXP Semiconductors and Infineon Semiconductors – have all had their Austin operations completely shut down amid the freeze.

A consortium known as the Coalition for Clean, Affordable, Reliable Energy that negotiates with Austin Energy on behalf of the city's biggest users of electricity confirmed that Austin Energy shut off power to the companies. It was unclear exactly when their electricity was cut off.

It is a rare move that has the potential to cost the companies millions of dollars, as it stops production and also could lead to some products being ruined by interrupting the manufacturing process.

“In response to the dire situation of the Texas utility grid, Austin Energy ordered all industrial and semiconductor manufacturers to idle or shut down," the coalition said in a written statement. "All companies complied and were able to safely do so."

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2021/02/16/austin-energy-shuts-power-off-samsung-other-major-users/6771267002/

It's not a good idea to put a semiconductor foundry in a third-world country.

[LizBeth]

1. Surely the Gov House is without electricity too.

[lapfog_1]

2. if they actually have silicon foundries there

it can be very expensive to restart after a power cycle

https://financialpost.com/technology/tech-news/a-brief-power-outage-at-a-micron-memory-factory-could-increase-dram-prices-in-2021

[Klaralven]

4. Samsung's Chip Fabs in Texas Ordered to Shut Down Due to Power Shortage

https://www.tomshardware.com/news/samsungs-chip-fabs-in-texas-ordered-to-shut-down-due-to-power-shortage

Unplanned fab shutdowns can have long-lasting impacts; for instance, a thirty-minute power shutdown in 2018 at a Samsung fab destroyed 3% of the global supply of NAND. Additionally, as seen from an unplanned power loss at Samsung's Hwaseong plant last month, it can take several days after power restoration for a fab to resume full operations.

[davekriss]

3. I love your last sentence

We do indeed live in a third world country. I remember rolling blackouts when I travelled to India. And the smell of diesel when the more fortunate’s generators kicked in.

Republican vampires have sucked this country dry, leaving a dried out husk in place of a once (sort of) great nation. When will the asleep wake up?

[people]

5. So true!

There is so much that needs to be done in this country -- so much to be rebuilt and so much to be repaired.

[bottomofthehill]

6. positive business climate

i thought companies were leaving CA for texas due to the positive business climate.......

[msongs]

7. are the downtown Houston petroleum mega towers still ablaze with lights tonight? nt

[Klaralven]

8. Power is generally on, although maybe not as much as usuall

https://www.earthcam.com/usa/texas/houston/?cam=houston

This has a better view and most towers look dark.

https://www.click2houston.com/video/skycam/2021/01/20/live-kprc-2-tower-cam/

[Laurelin]

9. NXP

I had heard they already can't keep up with the surge in chip demand. This won't help.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

10. Pretty simple choice: Human lives or semiconductor products.

This simply is another issue caused by lack of planning because unregulated capitalism rules like god in Texas. Business interests come first in most red states.

In a just and fair world, because we knew this cold snap was coming, preplanning would have idled these and many other plants some time ago and people's homes might not have been affected at all.

These plants and the hundreds of chemical plants (including refineries) in Texas use phenomenal amounts of natural gas and because so much electrical generation is now via natural gas turbines, good planning would cut supply to industry enough for homes to have heat.

A good government would take the lead to insure planning of this type is in place and ready to execute when required.

KY........