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Deadly Storm Reveals Weakness in Texas Power Grid
Predictably, progressives and conservatives disagree about what has caused an energy resource-rich state like Texas to lose power.
Over 4.3 million households and businesses were without power in Texas on Tuesday morning as a result of Monday’s winter storm. Texans have experienced ongoing and rolling blackouts over the past few days due to winter storms and frigid temperatures, which have caused wind-powered generators to freeze.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages power for about 90% of the state’s electric load, warned on Tuesday that the number of controlled outages will continue throughout the state’s weather emergency.
ERCOT said rotating blackouts occur when power companies cut off electricity to residential neighborhoods and small businesses, typically for 10 to 45 minutes before being rotated to another location. Traffic lights and infrastructure may also lose power during these blackouts.
The controlled-outages program began when wind turbines in Texas froze, cutting off a large portion of the state’s wind generating capacity. Wind power is the state’s second largest source of electricity. ERCOT said in a statement that the company is, “dealing with higher-than-normal generation outages due to frozen wind turbines and limited natural gas supplies…