why this is a clear issue and why it hasn’t been resolved? Texas was doomed last year during the snow and now this year with the heat. I don’t understand. Am I supposed to freeze and get a heat stroke?
In: 3
Texas is not having a grid issue right now. Some specific cities that have been growing in population this year faster than they have been able to increase infrastructure are having some issues, and even then it is not the entire city that is having problems. Just parts with the oldest infrastructure.
There’s many different factors contributing to Texas’ terrible grid, as these comments show. I’ll add another.
Power plants around the country get paid just for being available, even when they’re not producing power. That way, when there’s a spike in demand, the grid has enough capacity to meet it. It costs extra to maintain power plants that are only needed for a few days out of the year, but it increases the reliability of the grid.
In Texas, market efficiency is prioritized over reliabilty. Power plants only get paid for the electricity that is being consumed. So there is no incentive to build extra power plants that will only be necessary for a few days out of the year. When the weather gets extreme and demand for electricity is high, there isn’t enough generation capacity and the grid is stretched to its limit.
The answer is that it’s more important to Texans to adhere to its principals of independence and free market than it is to solve problems.
A lot of the problems of peak energy uses could be alleviated by connecting to the larger US grid to draw from regions whom don’t have as big spikes during those times, but that violates independence principals.
Texas’s laissez-faire approach to to the market reduces incentive to power companies to build for spikes. Basically, the grid is normally not at capacity. Building more capacity for spikes of demand isn’t profitable when you can’t sell that capacity most of the time (though note that a more connected grid would allow selling it over state lines). The spikes during peak demand allow operators to add usage charges and just profit from the scarcity. There’s no penalty for price gouging, and no incentive for companies to better.
Latest Answers