Facing power grid anxiety, Texans are buying generators and bracing for blackouts

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

https://sanantonioreport.org/facing-power-grid-anxiety-texans-are-buying-generators-and-bracing-for-blackouts/?amp

 

Darryl Ford is a master electrician who’s been selling generators for 16 years. The models he installs range from 10,000-watt generators that can run a few large appliances up to 150,000-watt systems that could power a large ranch estate.

Business used to be “slow-moving,” Ford said. That started to changed in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic reached Texas and people began panic buying. Then came February 2021, and the winter storm disaster that some call “Snowvid,” when 4.5 million households lost power, many for multiple days in temperatures that barely hovered above zero degrees.

Now Ford, who owns San Antonio-based Solarator Electric, cannot keep up with demand. Customers are waiting 25 weeks at this point, and the orders just keep coming. This run on generators is just one symptom of the grid anxiety that has caused many Texans to embark on a personal quest for energy independence.

Despite assurances from state leaders that recently passed legislation will be sufficient to protect residents from another deadly blackout, many Texans no longer believe that something they took for granted will be there when they need it most. Officials are increasingly emphasizing the need to conserve power during extreme temperatures, but it’s unclear whether the message is getting through

[TBoneTX 44,671]

Great that the company's business is so good!

And a generator is good to have, for reasons stated and even more.

[Dashinka 24,110]

Standby generators are not just a hot item in Texas.  We put one in last year, and it has been nice peace of mind when the power goes out.  

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

[Boiler 44,855]

I made provision for putting in a Generator but have not done so, well yet.

 

Certainly where I am I get an electricity bill every month. Not paid by taxes.

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

18 minutes ago, Boiler said:

I made provision for putting in a Generator but have not done so, well yet.

 

Certainly where I am I get an electricity bill every month. Not paid by taxes.

Well, not directly anyway.

[Dashinka 24,110]

8 hours ago, CanAm1980 said:

Well, not directly anyway.

Not yet right?

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

13 hours ago, CanAm1980 said:

cute play on words, but i suspect paying one's electric bill has more to do with keeping the grid operational.

[moxy 1,051]

1 hour ago, Ban Hammer said:

cute play on words, but i suspect paying one's electric bill has more to do with keeping the grid operational.

Wait... serious question: just so I understand, you believe that the problem with the Texas power grid is that people aren't paying their bills? Or are you saying that the large numbers of people who are losing power in Texas aren't paying their bill? (or if this was a joke, sorry, it whooshed over my head)

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

23 minutes ago, moxy said:

Wait... serious question: just so I understand, you believe that the problem with the Texas power grid is that people aren't paying their bills? Or are you saying that the large numbers of people who are losing power in Texas aren't paying their bill? (or if this was a joke, sorry, it whooshed over my head)

The libertarians would say that the  should have chosen their state better. It really is poor choice making on the consumers part.  Or better yet they should probably fund their own personal coal fired plant with no pollution controls in their back yard.  Coal Fly ash and mercury outfall can actually raise test scores in children. 

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

6 hours ago, Dashinka said:

Not yet right?

For as long as I can remember 

 

Texas’s Oil and Gas Industry Is Defending Its Billions in Subsidies Against a Green Energy Push

The state's energy business has long counted on special tax breaks and other largesse not available to others. Whether renewables or fossil fuels get more depends on how you do the math.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/energy-subsidies-fossil-fuels-renewables/

 

 

[moxy 1,051]

Corporate welfare: good

Minimum livable wage: bad

 

Thank you Supply Side Jesus.

[laylalex 7,282]

10 minutes ago, moxy said:

Thank you Supply Side Jesus.

You're welcome.

[Crtcl Rice Theory 2,432]

19 minutes ago, moxy said:

Corporate welfare: good

Minimum livable wage: bad

 

Thank you Supply Side Jesus.

I dont necessarily oppose government support of energy infrastructure if it is equitable and helps lift society.  That comes in several forms including a rebate from my PUD on a new energy efficient washer and Tax credits on a heat pump to id two things close to home.  But you are right, the ignorance of how involved the Federal government has been over the years in propping up a fossil fuel energy system is astounding on the part of so called libertarians.   And that is before we get to the cost of military keeping the shipping lanes and ports free to move oil out of the mideast. What is a fallen soldier or two in defense of our imperial oil interests.

 

The Koch brothers have taken leveraging regulation to prop up their monopolies to a new level by using state and local regulators to block competitors from entering their markets with effective lobbying and disinformation campaigns. This effort continues to this day with "donations" to "non profits" that keep the world safe for Koch industries ( recently endorsed by our Supreme Court last week)

 

The average american consumer doesn't know and doesn't care. They want 72 degrees of comfort in the winter and 68 in the summer. It is our birthright, don't ask me to think or get involved in something as mundane as energy or water policy.

8 minutes ago, laylalex said:

You're welcome.

I had a suit that looks like from the 90's. I never rocked the facial hair or stigmata tho.

Edited July 7, 2021 by CanAm1980

[Dashinka 24,110]

1 hour ago, moxy said:

Corporate welfare: good

Minimum livable wage: bad

 

Thank you Supply Side Jesus.

How about no corporate taxpayer handouts to anyone, and let the market decide winners and losers and wages?  I know, it is the two wrongs theory, so therefore we need to give taxpayer money to the “greenies” now, I would rather see the subsidies taken away to those corporations getting them today.