The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), responsible for managing the operations of the Texas electric grid, declared on Thursday that "grid conditions are expected to be normal, and there is not a current expectation of an energy emergency" in anticipation of the freeze predicted to strike Texas this weekend. The forecast indicates temperatures plunging into single digits as early as Saturday in the Texas Panhandle.
The persistence of freezing temperatures in Texas has revived concerns about the reliability of the state's grid, especially following the blackouts experienced during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. The storm resulted in nearly 4.5 million Texan homes and businesses losing power at its peak, with blackouts extending over several days in certain parts of the state.
Joshua Rhodes, an energy research scientist at the University of Texas-Austin, expressed his perspective on X. "It’s deep in the Texas psyche now, and anytime it gets really hot or really cold the grid is front of mind," said Rhodes. "I do expect to see power outages, but driven by snow and ice making tree limbs fall on small distribution power lines and some cars slipping on ice and hitting power poles," he further commented.
Mark Nelson from Radiant Energy Fund also shared his insights on X. He stated that "Three years ago Texas failed a similar test, leaving millions shivering without power for four days; several hundred deaths; and almost $200 billion in damages." Nelson added, "In fact the most recent publicly available winter SARA report, for Winter 2022-2023, pessimistically indicates that in a situation like Uri there will still be a significant shortfall in generation." However, he clarified that conditions are not expected to reach Uri's extremes.
Mose Buchele reminded his followers on X that worries about electric grid performance extend beyond Texas. "This freeze will grip much of the country," he wrote. "Last fall, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned of the impact major winter storms could have on regional power grids. In Texas, grid operators remain confident there won't be any problems."
The causes of the Uri blackouts continue to be a subject of debate. Nelson suggested that blame could be widely distributed. "Ice froze up wind turbines and natural gas wells and even when natural gas power plants were able to run correctly, many had to start turning down due to lack of fuel," he wrote on X. "Nuclear, usually flawless in freezing temperatures, didn't meet its normal standards."
However, much criticism was directed towards renewable energy. According to the Texas Trine, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that "the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America." Bill Peacock, policy director for the Energy Alliance, penned on https://www.excellentthought.net/renewables-put-million-of-texans-in-the-dark/ that "During the critical four-hour period from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. when ERCOT was forced to begin rolling blackouts, actual wind output averaged less than 5% of the ERCOT load." He also highlighted solar's shortcomings during the storm. "At the same time, solar—the most rapidly growing energy source in Texas—was where it is every night—off the grid, for the simple reason that the sun was not shining."
