Tag Archives: Freeze 2021

Maybe there won’t be another freeze this winter

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Views differ. Love it or hate it — winter looks especially warm in Texas this year. Federal forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said last week that much of the country is likely to see … Continue reading →

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Now is the autumn of our discontent

Posted on November 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Nobody likes anything right now. Texas voters have a net disapproval for how state leaders have handled the reliability of the electricity grid, abortion and property taxes, according to a new University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. In an October poll … Continue reading →

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Exempt yourself

Posted on October 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Is it really a regulation if you can just say nope, sorry, no can do? The Public Utility Commission of Texas approved weatherization standards for electricity generators on Thursday, requiring them to be ready for winter cold by by Dec. … Continue reading →

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Our latest wake-up call about our power grid

Posted on October 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Same song, next verse. Federal energy officials vowed to ensure that Texas improves its electricity grid and natural gas system after widespread blackouts during the February freeze led to more than 200 deaths and billions of dollars in property damage. … Continue reading →

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There will probably be another freeze this winter

Posted on September 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully not as bad, but, well, you know. Savor the rest of the summer and all of fall because this winter in Texas is going to be “frigid and flaky” similar to February’s deadly storm, according to the Farmers’ Almanac. … Continue reading →

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Now we look to see what happens with Greg Abbott’s approval ratings

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

The first data point is bad for him. Which means it’s good for the rest of us. Gov. Greg Abbott had the lowest approval rating since February 2016 and his highest disapproval numbers during his tenure as governor, The Texas … Continue reading →

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Zombie trees

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

We are still experiencing the effects of the freeze. Zombies are in your yard, in parks and along roadsides and other green spaces throughout Texas. They’re trees that are partly dead and partly alive, struggling to move forward and waiting … Continue reading →

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Please enjoy the higher natural gas prices you’ll soon be paying

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

And by “enjoy”, I mean “blame Greg Abbott”. Texans are on the hook for $3.6 billion in natural gas costs incurred by utilities during one freezing week in February — a burden consumers will bear for a decade or longer. … Continue reading →

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A timeline of the blackout

Posted on August 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. A new report from University of Texas at Austin energy experts lays much of the blame for power outages during the state’s deadly February freeze on the failure of natural gas producers to fully weatherize their facilities.” The … Continue reading →

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One million reasons why Greg Abbott thinks the grid is just fine

Posted on July 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Or 2.4 billion reasons, depending on how you want to count it. The Texas electric grid collapse during the February winter storm killed hundreds of Texans and caused an estimated $295 billion in damages, while generating seismic gains for a … Continue reading →

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Here’s your special session agenda

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

They call this “red meat”, but it’s really just bullshit. Gov. Greg Abbott has announced the agenda for the special legislative session that begins Thursday, asking lawmakers to prioritize 11 issues that largely appeal to conservatives who wanted more out … Continue reading →

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Abbott tells the PUC to, like, “do something” about electricity and stuff

Posted on July 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

He’s a Very Serious man making Very Serious proposals. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday gave state electricity regulators marching orders to “improve electric reliability.” In a letter to the Public Utility Commission, Abbott directed the three-person board of directors, who … Continue reading →

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We’ll be paying for the freeze for a long time

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

What’s more, we have done nothing to prevent the same thing from happening again. Publicly funded state agencies needing to keep the lights and heat on during the freeze racked up huge bills. In February 2020, the Texas Department of … Continue reading →

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Nobody knows why the grid was short on power

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Really inspires confidence, doesn’t it? Last Monday, Texas’ main power grid operator asked Texans, mid-heat wave, to turn their thermostats to 78 degrees during the afternoon and evening for the week to reduce electricity demand on the grid after 12,000 … Continue reading →

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There’s still a lot of investment in renewables in Texas

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. Four months after the failure of the Texas electric grid sparked a backlash against clean power, investors and developers have decided just what the state needs: more renewable energy. Much more. Texas is on pace to have … Continue reading →

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We go to the next freeze with the power grid reform we have, not the power grid reform we wanted

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It is what it is, and what it is isn’t much. Texas lawmakers on Sunday passed a final proposal to shore up the state’s power grid in response to this year’s deadly outage crisis, agreeing on a raft of reforms … Continue reading →

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Another upward revision of the freeze death count

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Buzzfeed News takes a deep dive. The true number of people killed by the disastrous winter storm and power outages that devastated Texas in February is likely four or five times what the state has acknowledged so far. A BuzzFeed … Continue reading →

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Are we headed for a June special session or not?

Posted on May 29, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Too soon to tell. Right now this is just the usual end-of-session venting and frustration. With the future of the power grid and voting laws in Texas hanging in the balance, tensions among the top political leaders in the Legislature … Continue reading →

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Abbott knew the blackouts were coming

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good morning. Take a deep, cleansing breath, have a seat, and then read this. Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s office knew of looming natural gas shortages on February 10, days before a deep freeze plunged much of the state into blackouts, … Continue reading →

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How many times will we fail to fix our power grid?

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

By “we”, I mean our Legislature, and the PUC, and the Governor, and the Railroad Commission, and pretty much everyone else in charge of this state. Ten years ago, Texas power plants froze during a fast-moving winter storm, causing rolling … Continue reading →

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How hot will summer be?

Posted on May 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Depends on how dependable the electricity providers are. ERCOT sought to reassure worried Texans that the state’s electricity grid will have enough power to meet record-breaking demand this summer, less than three months after a catastrophic power failure left millions … Continue reading →

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The Big Freeze didn’t just screw Texas

Posted on May 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I had no idea. Texas’ deep freeze didn’t just disrupt natural gas supplies throughout Lone Star country—its effects rippled across the country, extending as far north as Minnesota. There, gas utilities had to pay $800 million more than they anticipated … Continue reading →

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Beto and Julian rally against voter suppression

Posted on May 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see after a couple of brutal weeks. Democrats Beto O’Rourke and Julián Castro joined forces at the Texas Capitol on Saturday to rally against election reform bills that they called blatant attempts to suppress voters in Black and … Continue reading →

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So we bail out the electricity providers

Posted on May 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I guess I don’t know enough about our weird electricity market to suggest a viable alternative to this, but it sure doesn’t speak well of our system. An approximately $2.5 billion plan to bail out Texas’ distressed electricity market from … Continue reading →

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Funding weatherization

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m okay with this, with one caveat. A plan to help finance what will likely become mandatory power plant upgrades to withstand more extreme weather in the wake of the February power crisis received preliminary approval in the Texas House … Continue reading →

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Trib polling roundup, part 1

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

On COVID and vaccinations. Texas voters are feeling safer about being out in public, and better about getting COVID-19 vaccines, but a majority of the state’s voters still consider the coronavirus a “significant crisis,” according to a new University of … Continue reading →

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The plight of the city-owned gas utilities

Posted on April 25, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

It’s rough. In the wake of last month’s winter disaster, which nearly crashed the state’s power grid and killed more than 100 people, state lawmakers convened hearings to probe how a weeklong winter storm had crippled the state. They have … Continue reading →

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How our water systems failed during the freeze

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good analysis of something that has received far less attention than the blackouts that resulted during the freeze. Which is interesting because the blackouts were the main cause of the water outages and resulting boil notices. And the fix here … Continue reading →

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ERCOT roundup

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few stories of interest that I didn’t feel like putting in their own posts… ERCOT will argue it is immune from lawsuits. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas will argue that it has governmental immunity that protects it … Continue reading →

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It was worse in Harris County during the freeze

Posted on April 12, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Harris County residents were far more likely to have lost electricity and water during February’s winter storm and blackout crisis than residents of other Texas counties, a survey by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs … Continue reading →

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Where HISD stands today

Posted on April 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In a holding pattern, waiting for direction. In the winter of 2019, two committees composed of Houston ISD employees, parents and advocates issued recommendations for how the district should tackle two of its thorniest issues: campus funding practices and access … Continue reading →

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Our COVID numbers are staying down

Posted on April 9, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s keep this going. While the East Coast struggles with a fourth wave of rising COVID-19 infections, Texas experts say the state is doing “reasonably well” as case rates stabilize across the state. Case rates and hospitalizations have plateaued in … Continue reading →

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Chron analysis puts freeze death total at 194

Posted on April 5, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Sobering, to say the least. The deaths of nearly 200 people are linked to February’s cold snap and blackouts, a Houston Chronicle analysis reveals, making the natural disaster one of the worst in Texas this past century. The tally, which … Continue reading →

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The infrastructure bill and the power grid

Posted on April 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. President Joe Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan could help rebuild Texas highways and ports and push broadband into rural parts of the state, where up to 31 percent of residents do not have access to high-speed internet. It … Continue reading →

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