Natural gas companies were *paid* to turn off power during Texas winter storm

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article252816428.html

The February winter storm that nearly brought the Texas electricity grid to its knees likely stressed the state’s natural gas infrastructure “more than any time in history,” according to the authors of a new UT Austin report analyzing the power outages and their financial implications.

The report includes previously undisclosed data about how the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the grid’s manager, responded to the unfolding crisis, which led to widespread outages and hundreds of deaths statewide. The report was released just before ERCOT announced its own “roadmap” of 60 proposals to improve the grid.

“This isn’t the only time natural gas has constrained electricity generation — it happened in other recent blackouts (1989 and 2011) — but this time was unique,” said Carey King, the assistant director of UT’s Energy Institute and a co-author of the report. “The system was stressed to its absolute maximum capability.”

One striking revelation from the report involves ERCOT’s Emergency Responsive Service (ERS) program, which pays enrolled customers to reduce the amount of electricity they are purchasing from the grid or start using backup generators during emergencies. The goal is to decrease ERCOT’s need to start rolling blackouts, according to the agency’s website.

*snip*

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. This is criminal behavior, IMHO.

People died because of these actions.

[The Magistrate]

2. There Is A Reason Merchants Are Counted Among The Dis-Honorable Professions, Ma'am

The nearest thing to an ethic a merchant can conceive is 'don't gouge too deep...'.

[dalton99a]

3. Kick