Cold and angry? Don't let politicians sell you a bill of goods

Bravo. Laura! You are right on point!

Another point not made. ERCOT jacked up the wholesale price of electricity 3,000%. From an average $0.03/kwh in January to currently over $9.00/kwh. That is price gouging in an emergency. When the class action lawsuit is filed count me in.

Dang, Laura. What a spectacular article!!

Power was restored at my house just before 6 pm Wednesday it was turned off at around 1: 50 am Monday and I will not forget to let ERCOT, Abbott, and other politicians know just how much I didn't like being turned off at their discretion. Rick Perry should speak for himself when he declared Texans wouldn't mind if the power was out even longer just to avoid federal regulations of the crumbling power grid and why is the grid mechanics in disrepair because of no real regulatory oversight. Blaming wind turbines is the bs that climate deniers are ranting and stating as fact on alternative facts TV as the cause for the collapse, but we know it is bs and it is easily proven.

It is blatantly obvious that deregulating critical infrastructure is a lethal mistake. Greed and profits are the priority at the cost of human

lives. Those responsible for this disaster should be held accountable to the highest degree. Furthermore, there needs to be a demand for oversight of this and other critical utilities.

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A huge high five Laura! You are smack on and here's hope we all take heed. It's not a stretch to expect our representatives be accountable. That is; take credit for the good things but be equally as willing to accept responsibility for those things that do not go so well (an under statement in this case). No blaming, just get about the business of planning/preparing for a future, even while we constantly ignore glaring data from our past.

And let's not forget that this "fluke" will happen again. As more and more heat goes into our climate it becomes less and less stable and predictable. A common opinion in this forum is that climate change is just fine and we just need to cope with it. Well, "coping with it" means major investments in weatherizing our energy infrastructure which will mean more expensive power - from all sources. And we need to end this ridiculous isolated grid that keeps Texas from sharing power with other states.

Do you know who hasn't been in the national news all week? Louisiana. They had their problems, of course, - from a news story in The Advocate (https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/article_2e4e0036-7176-11eb-9e8e-1f5a23f3707a.html), "Louisiana utility regulators are taking a deep dive into the chain of events, including what they call greedy natural gas suppliers, that led to the rolling energy blackouts that left some 2 million customers in the dark and cold, some for more than an hour." Oh, the horror! Lousiana is part of a power grid that extends from the gulf to Canada. It also includes parts of East Texas - I'd be curious to learn how they faired compared to the rest of the state.

According to this story - https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_e2830294-70c3-11eb-b3e8-478786f8cd49.html - Jasper, Texas is implementing rolling blackouts - of 30 minutes. Jasper is part of Entergy, the same shared grid that Louisiana belongs to.

What Jasper and Louisiana are experiencing is what we should have seen here - moderate and manageable rolling blackouts due to a rare and unpredicted weather event. Not a state-wide collapse of the energy grid with millions of Texans without power for days.

Great article Laura.

Best work ever.

Elections have consequences. I hope everyone will join me in demanding change at the ballot box because that is the only way we will get the change we need!!

Right On, Laura!

"Just confirmed @SenTedCruz and his family flew to Cancun tonight for a few days at a resort they've visited before," tweeted former MSNBC anchor David Shuster. What a POS to leave in the midst of a battle. Maybe there was nothing he could do, but at least pretend you care.

As a retired senior electrician for a large chemical plant in Bayport, I was charged to do high voltage switching involving getting switching orders from ERCOT. It was known years ago that our Texas electrical grid is years overdue for updating. An example, there are high voltage circuit breakers on the grid that are undersized to handle todays loads, therefore they become "pinch" points. ERCOT and the industry know about this and other issues. So why not fix it? Because they don't have to. ERCOT is not accountable to the citizens of Texas nor to anybody. They are set up as a commission not a state agency therefore free to operate at will. They even have it written into the states Public Utility Commission contract that includes the clause "ACT OF GOD" which basically absolves ERCOT from any responsibility. Abbott is throwing a" red herring" to blame green energy as a culprit. It's the state "good ole boy" protecting the oil/investors and their profits (explains increase in charges). If you believe it's the failure of green energy, you are biting the "red herring" hook.

My mother lives in East Texas, Hemphill. They got a lot of snow and Ice! I was so worried about her losing power!! Guess what! She never lost power at all! Did not think mine would be out mon 2am to wed 8pm! Me my grandchildren and elderly relatives froze!!! Oh i did get 2 rolling blackouts 1 lasted 15 min! The other lasted 5 min! Then nothing ! Did not help! Heads need to roll in Austin! They the ones who got rich with deregulation! Sure the lobbyists were stuffing their pockets!!! Politicians are so crooked! They don’t care about the public! Except at Election time!

Have you ever wondered if we are not told the full “truth” because it’s all about money?

Stock market crashing and accountability and all that stuff aside .... it really all boils down to money and keeping those consumers (you and me) on the never ending treadmill of more and more consumerism to keep the fat cats happy.

“Description

A Fat Cat is a man of large means and slight political experience who, having reached middle age, and success in business, and finding no further thrill, sense or satisfaction in the mere piling up of more millions, develops a yearning for some sort of public honor, and is willing to pay for it.”

Not to be sexist I think the definition should have a man or woman language.