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“This Is Extremely Dangerous” – 4.4 Million Without Power As Texas Blackouts “Spread Again”

"This Is Extremely Dangerous" – 4.4 Million Without Power As Texas Blackouts "Spread Again"

Update (1234 ET): ERCOT officials have promised to restore some power generation today, but according to PowerOutage.US, around 1221 ET, there are more than 4.423 million customers without electricity in the state. That’s up 100k since 0900 ET.

Bloomberg’s Javier Blas tweets out he "doesn’t have good news" concerning the power grid collapse in the state.  

"The load on the ERCOT grid is right now nearly the lowest it has been since the blackouts started more than 36 hours ago. Load climbed a bit earlier (see chart, note GMT hours), but since has fallen, which indicates blackouts have spread again."

Meanwhile, some people without electricity are using outdoor propane heaters to heat their homes. 

* * * 

Update (1208 ET): There are three major power grids in the Lower 48 states: the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection — and Texas Interconnection. 

The Texas grid is called ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas). It covers 90% of the state’s electric load except for El Paso and the upper Panhandle, and East Texas.

Local utilities under ERCOT have pledged not to sell their power to out-of-state customers. Texas grid’s independence dates back to World War II.

While there’s little pressure to integrate ERCOT into the national grid, that could all change with the latest wave of blackouts across the Lone Star State. 

* * * 

Update (1003 ET): Some Texans have been living in their cars to stay warm as rolling blackouts have left millions without power. 

CBS DFW spoke with at least one person who’s been sitting in his car since Sunday to get warm. 

Collin County resident Clint Cash has had no power in North Texas for a couple of days. He said his house went dark Sunday, which was when he decided to bundle up and sit in his parked car with the heater on full blast. 

Isha Elhence, a Dallas resident who lost power around 2 a.m. Monday, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, "We lost power around 2 a.m. Monday. It was only supposed to be for one to two hours, which seemed manageable… Now it’s kind of indefinite with no updates, so we’re unsure of what we’re supposed to be doing."

  "This is extremely dangerous," said Eric Berger, a forecaster with Houston’s Space City Weather.

As the rolling blackouts increased across Texas, we noted Monday evening, internet searches for firewood exploded across the state. 

Internet searches for "where to buy firewood" erupted on Monday. 

Texas’ grid collapse has transformed the state into a third world country. 

* * * 

Update (0950 ET): With temperatures near zero this morning, GM decided to idle its massive Arlington Assembly plant due to "weather problems" for the second day. The facility sits on about 250 acres and employs approximately 5,480 people. 

There are no further updates on when the facility will reopen. Temperatures are expected to stay frigid until the end of the week. 

* * * 

Update (0915 ET): Oncor Electric Delivery, Texas’ largest transmission and electric distribution utility, tweeted:

"Due to ongoing record-low temps and generation, @ERCOT_ISO has continued to direct Oncor & utilities across TX to drop power load through maintained controlled outages. These controlled outages are occurring across the state and our entire service territory." 

Oncor also tweeted: 

"At this time, @ERCOT_ISO is unable to predict when grid conditions will stabilize. All customers are urged to be prepared for cont’ extended outages. Please also prioritize safety. Warming stations are available in many areas- check online or call 211 for more."

Temperatures across Texas this morning are absolutely frigid. 

At the moment, PowerOutage.US shows 4.307 million customers in Texas are without power.

* * * 

Update (0854 ET): Texas power grid operator ERCOT, which represents 90% of the state’s electric load, tweeted Tuesday morning that "generators to return, renewable output to increase = increased customer restoration." 

Bloomberg published a headline that said the grid operator expects all power to be back on Tuesday evening. 

"It’s a function of how many generations we are able to get back on line, especially gas and coal," Dan Woodfin, a senior director for the ERCOT, said in an interview. "It could be as early as early afternoon today. But then it is also possible it could go into the evening hours tonight."

However, Bloomberg’s Javier Blas said the grid is "still short of at least 18.5 GW." He said that equates to outages for at least 3 million homes. 

* * * 

Update ( 0832 ET): The Southwest Power Pool (SSP), which manages the electric grid and wholesale power market for the central US, including Kansas, Oklahoma, portions of New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, Minnesota, Iowa, Wyoming, and Nebraska, said Tuesday morning that blackouts would continue for a second day. 

Here’s what blackouts in Houston looked like overnight. 

Why are the ‘poor’ suburban areas dark while downtown is all lit up? 

* * * 

Four million Texans are without power Tuesday morning after a polar vortex split poured Arctic air into the region, collapsing the state’s power grid, forcing grid operators to impose rolling blackouts because of higher power demand. 

The PowerOutage.us website, which tracks power outages, said four million Texas customers were experiencing outages at 0630 ET Tuesday. 

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo tweeted that a weather-related death was reported Monday night. He said exposure to "extremely low temperatures" was the cause of death. 

Acevedo tweeted, "Please pray for our elderly and vulnerable populations tonight. With the 2nd consecutive night of massive power outages and frigid cold, many lives are at risk. State of Texas leaders must do better, lives depend on it." 

Refinitiv data shows Texas continues to deal with Arctic air, now stretching for the fifth day. 

Below-average Texas temperatures will likely clear out by the end of the weekend.

ERCOT wholesale electricity prices topped the grid’s price cap of $9,000 per megawatt-hour several times in the overnight session. Reminding readers, ERCOT prices are usually around $25/MWh. 

Meanwhile, rolling blackouts have set off a chain reaction of problems. RT News reports "some water treatment plants and cell phone networks" are offline. 

Several metro areas across central Texas warned of water issues. 

Cellular networks started to go offline as "backup generators at towers are freezing or running out of fuel or both," tweeted County Judge KP George.

Governor Greg Abbott wrote on Twitter that "Texas power grid has not been compromised." However, millions of Texans are unhappy with his response to the grid crisis that has sparked chaos across the state. He deployed National Guard troops to assist the state in relief efforts. 

Living in Texas sounds like a third-world country. Here’s a tweet from Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins: 

"The additional shed coupled with increased demand will likely increase blackout numbers and times. We should discuss how Texas let this happen. I understand your anger. I’m angry too. But tonight-right now- is about human and animal survival. Check on and help one another!" 

President Joe Biden declared an emergency on Monday for the Lone Star State, where temperatures in some areas hovered near zero. 

The freeze also took a toll on the state’s energy industry, the country’s largest crude refinery shuttered operations on Monday. Over the weekend, natural gas pipelines had restricted flow as wellheads froze. 

… and the worst might not be over as a second winter storm could batter the state by midweek. 

Tyler Durden
Tue, 02/16/2021 – 08:20

via ZeroHedge News

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