Strangest climate I have seen (Dallas, West: heat pump, buyer, pricing)

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by loves2read

I need to check that but can’t find the online article now

1. The deal about not firing up more power from older underused capacity without paying insane prices is a federal mandate. The DMN ran a long piece covering all this.......ERCOT had to beg the secretary of energy to allow some of this type of generation.

2. Facing our current shortfall some bulk buyers were paying freakishly high sport prices.

3. Some customers buy through services that charge a fee + whatever the wholesale rate is...........that's great until said customers realize they are more or less playing the futures market with their power bill. One service advised its customers to find new providers before the current bills becomes due.

4. And yes no matter how hard some deflect significant West Texas wind power being off line is a big part of the problem.

These are separate but related bits.

[TurtleCreek80]

This is just cruel. We’ve had TWO hours of power in the last 24 hours. Total ERCOT failure to have 1/4 of the metroplex population taking the brunt of this historic freeze while everyone else is warm.

[Mr. Clutch]

Originally Posted by hbdwihdh378y9

That's exactly what they should do. Raise prices 500% or 1000% (or whatever it takes) to let the market solve the problem instead of rationing a scarce resource in an exceptionally unfair manner.

This would just result in wealthier people getting power while poorer people are left to suffer in the cold. Not an acceptable solution.

The rationing is definitely being done unfairly as well, but it seems to be more random than anything else in terms of who gets hit vs. who doesn't. Neither is ideal but basically saying those of you that are OK with a thousand dollar bill or whatever this month can get power and screw the rest of you is even worse imo.

[k374]

my sis, my co-workers (all around Dallas area) did not have outages, I have had 20 hour outage and on for 3 hours now the power is out again. This is a bunch of BS, they are repeatedly turning the same areas off and other areas are running fine.. I doubt all of them are near essential businesses.. baloney!

[k374]

I bet there is some corruption going on, a criminal inquiry needs to be opened to look into what happened here with regard to why some neighborhoods have been bearing the entire brunt of the power cuts.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

This would just result in wealthier people getting power while poorer people are left to suffer in the cold. Not an acceptable solution.

The rationing is definitely being done unfairly as well, but it seems to be more random than anything else in terms of who gets hit vs. who doesn't. Neither is ideal but basically saying those of you that are OK with a thousand dollar bill or whatever this month can get power and screw the rest of you is even worse imo.

Yeah it definitely feels random. You really couldnt even say it's been done on any type of discriminatory basis. I know people suffering in wealthy towns like Frisco and McKinney, as well as less wealthy places like Mesquite and Garland. My town of Wylie seems to be split down the middle, half are without power and the other half have had little if any disruption.

[biafra4life]

Originally Posted by k374

I bet there is some corruption going on, a criminal inquiry needs to be opened to look into what happened here with regard to why some neighborhoods have been bearing the entire brunt of the power cuts.

Here in Wylie on the neighborhood chat app, someone is already threatening to file a lawsuit over the fact that half the city got hammered and the other half were just fine. The mayor had to come on to explain that the city itself had nothing to do with the rationing, and the ire should be directed at Oncor, Ercot and friends.

[Rakin]

They know who you voted for

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by Mr. Clutch

This would just result in wealthier people getting power while poorer people are left to suffer in the cold. Not an acceptable solution.

The rationing is definitely being done unfairly as well, but it seems to be more random than anything else in terms of who gets hit vs. who doesn't. Neither is ideal but basically saying those of you that are OK with a thousand dollar bill or whatever this month can get power and screw the rest of you is even worse imo.

The various shortages are so extreme widespread rolling blackouts won't work according to all the big players involved.

[Veritas Vincit]

I think it's interesting that people in authority say they had no way of anticipating this. Wasn't the last cold snap of this magnitude in 1989? It seems to me like you should at least plan and prepare to have safeguards in place for a 100 year event. But that does require the willingness to pay a little extra all those other years when nothing unusual occurs.