Power failure: How a winter storm pushed Texas into crisis

The state’s Republican leadership was blamed for ignoring warnings

But the problems Texans continue to deal with stem from decisions made by Republican's controlled by the oil and gas corporations and energy agencies. Texas Republicans decided to set up a power grid separate from surrounding states, so when the power went out in Texas they had no back up. Texas was the only state to do so.

Texans wanted to do it the Texas way. And Texans pay the price for it today. Now Texans need federal tax money to bail them out. Now taxpayers in 49 other states need to subsidize them.

And now its Republican governor is damning DC with faint praise, claiming he wants more federal money. While deflecting problems, pointing to a New York US representative who flew to his state (not Cancun) to set up help for Texas citizens.

Texas is on its own power grid, run under Republican policies.

Once again, Republicans show that they are useless in preparing for and dealing with disasters. I can't remember a disaster under a Republican president in which the response wasn't a disaster.

Everome who lives in Texas must be living AOC because she sprung into action to help Texans when their own law makers abandoned them.

Killing them with kindness. The far-right detests that more than anything. They consider it pure evil.

This might sound bad, but staying in a beach resort is better option than possibly dieing. When Fukushima nuclear disaster happened, I flew to Kagoshima the next morning.

Everome who lives in Texas must be living AOC because she sprung into action to help Texans when their own law makers abandoned them.

R's trolled, political theater at its best. Her concern for those NOT from the privileged castes was made clear for all to see. Grandstanding no doubt, but knock wood her brilliant show and snub will make some at the lower end of the economic spectrum see politicians and their spokespeople like Cruz, Trump and family, Tucker Carlson etal, that those three and their ilk care nada for anyone not from their upper caste. Maybe more will see AOC is actually a champion of working people who were not born to privilege.

This might sound bad, but staying in a beach resort is better option than possibly dieing. When Fukushima nuclear disaster happened, I flew to Kagoshima the next morning.

This is pathetic. Flyin’ Ted is indefensible. Just tell the truth and say that you’ll slavishly support GOP traitors no matter what they do.

Trump and family, Tucker Carlson etal, that those three and their ilk care nada for anyone not from their upper caste.

As if Anderson Cooper and Don Lémon rushed to send aid to Texas. They do, that’s why we get other facts, viewpoints and in detailed depth analysis, just because AOC for once did something which is a noble doesn’t mean by any stretch of the means that now the Dems are the saviors of this State, there is certainly blame to go around on all levels, but unlike in California, they’re learning from this hiccup to make sure this never happens again.

Maybe more will see AOC is actually a champion of working people who were not born to privilege.

Seriously Doubt it.

https://www.kctv5.com/whos-actually-to-blame-for-the-texas-power-disaster/article_7e9fe6b9-f401-5fc1-83b1-2371ad7913fd.html

To be perfectly honest, the problem is a bit more complex than Dems jump up and want everyone to gulp down as facts or their version of facts.

*But the primary fall guy is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), an independent organization that operates Texas' power grid. The story, as you might guess, is actually slightly more complicated than that. It's rooted in Texans' views of their state as a quasi-independent country -- and a desire to have as little federal interference in their lives as possible. Yes, there are politics at the root of this.*

"Texas' secessionist inclinations have at least one modern outlet: the electric grid," wrote the Texas Tribune back in 2011.

To understand what is happening right now in Texas -- and who's to blame -- you have to go back to 1935, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act, which governed electricity sharing and sales between the states. Basically, it allowed the federal government to regulate states who brought power in from outside their state lines. Texas, never a fan of federal intrusion, set up its own power grid system -- split between northern and southern Texas -- to avoid any federal involvement. That led eventually to the formation of ERCOT in 1970 and this strange fact: There are three power grids in the United States -- the eastern power grid, the western power grid and, well, Texas.

Yes, you read that right. Texas has its own power grid. Because it is Texas.

And while being independent from the yoke of federal regulation has always been a point of pride for Texas, the limits of that strategy are being realized now. See, because Texas -- or at least 90% of the state -- is controlled by ERCOT, they can't simply borrow power from either the eastern or western power grids. That's never been a problem before because Texas has always been able to generate more power than its citizens need. But the reality is that Texas is an electricity island, which isn't a problem until the lights go out, and you don't have enough power in the state to turn them back on.

Interesting energy historical reading. So yes, this is a bigger problem that even AOC can’t and won’t solve over the long run and no, I’m not defending Cruz in all of this, he definitely was wrong to do what he did, the optics of it is just bad, but he’s a State Senator, NOT the governor or mayor who’s responsibility is to oversee and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

 but he’s a State Senator

In the US Cruz is called a US Senator representing the state of Texas. A Texas state senator serves in Texas state government. I know, US politics are confusing for even many Americans.

 the governor or mayor who’s responsibility is to oversee and make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.

Bingo! The Texan Republican governor, Republican House and Republican senate plus those Republicans they've appointed to run Texas must be held accountable. No wonder the R's are so desperately pointing fingers at others, doing their time-honored other-guy defense. Including claiming a woman from New York who did more to help Texans than the Republicans spending time on Fox and in Cancun even thought of doing.

I love watching Little House on the Prairie. I especially like the one show where Charles' crops were wiped out by a hail storm and how he blamed Republicans for this.

Texans are getting heating bills in the thousands of dollars.

Great Republican leadership there. They don't prepare their people for a disaster, and then go to Mexico when one hits.

I think the 'pubs used to care about the people at one time, didn't they?

And now Larry Kudlow (the guy told Trump it would be easy to beat China at the trade war Trump lost) is trying to blame the power failures on Biden, who is the president of the country (therefore zero control over the Republican power grid in Texas), and has only been the president for a month.

"Unfortunately in the early weeks -- what, we've got a month here -- it has been a left, progressive agenda," he continued. "He's gone after the energy sector. You saw some of the consequences in Texas. That's just the tip of the iceberg."

It's ironic. The guy clearly is entirely inept, proven by the trade war lost with China that he pushed for, and here he is pretending he has any clue whatsoever on how to do things right. He can't even figure out who is responsible for this failure to blame the right person.

The morons gain power through fear (see Kudlow's comments). But then they're entirely useless.

Greg Abbott and Ted Cruz new reelection campaign song;

The stars at night, are big and bright...clap, clap, clap, clap....

Cause there's no lights in Texas....

Ted Cruz is gone, his wife along....clap, clap, clap, clap....

Cause there's no heat in Texas...

*"Unfortunately in the early weeks -- what, we've got a month here -- it has been a left, progressive agenda," he continued. "He's gone after the energy sector. You saw some of the consequences in Texas. That's just the tip of the iceberg."*

And is it any wonder Trump supporters are so gullible that they latch on to any kooky, debunked, fairy tale if it somehow keeps the embers burning in their victimhood, grievance-politics, far-right bubble...

Larry Kudlow, the guy that said before he joined the Trump admin that; "Donald Trump's proposed policies on trade would lead to a bad recession, cause "incalculable damage" to the economy and kill consumers and businesses alike." Then he joined Trump's team and flipped more times than Simone Biles. Sure, we can take his word...

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/06/06/politics/kudlow-trade-incalculable-damage-economy/index.html

Texas Repubs opted out of the national electrical grid because they "wanted to do it themselves", failed to regulate their system, had no back-ups in place, and when it all went down, they try to blame it on "windmills"....which according to their own experts only supplies around 10% of their total energy capacity...

I guess they chose windmills since most Repubs already believe they cause cancer...

That's today's cultish Repub Party in a nutshell; never take responsibility and always blame "the Left" - the more ridiculous the excuse, the better...

Inside the cult, everything is a "black-white" political issue...the fact that the sun goes down at night is a Liberal plot to darken the world...

Beyond delusion...

AOC raised over a million dollars for freezing, starving Texans. Beto O'Rourke called hundreds of people to see if they were safe, and get them the help they need.

Ted Cruz went on vacation and blamed his kids when he got caught out. The mayor of a Texan city said that “weak” Texans should just die.

The GOP doesn’t care about people. It wants them to die to make billionaires richer.

The failure isn't renewable energies. The failure is a grid system not connected to other states. Texas got what it built. Massive numbers of broken pipes.

You kinda repeated what I already stated....

Because deregulation makes things cheaper.

Dems would definitely a thing or two about regulations...at least when it involves something they want to control.

Back when Lincoln was president and the Republican Party was more akin to today’s Democratic Party. A short 150+ years ago.

Then that would have made JFK a Conservative then in actuality.

The vacations are bad, but it's the mayor (now resigned) that really reveals GOP ideology to me.

The GOP thinks that a strong man leader should run the country, and that democracy is bad.

It wants the weak to die.

It wants to see non-white people marginalized if not killed.

It believes that Jewish people control the world and set fires with secret space lazers.

Tell me, what are the real ideological differences between the GOP and the Nazi Party?

While Ted Cruz and his family were vacationing in Cancun, several Mexican residents seeing them were overheard saying....

"When America sends its people, it sure doesn't send us their best...they send us cowards, liars, grandstanding idiots...and some we assume are very fine people"...

Sen. Cruz is an intelligent guy, no question. But his behavior here shows that even the best and brightest can be tainted by Washington elitist entitlement syndrome. He was beyond stupid to pull this little stunt and think he could get away with it. At the very least, his presidential aspirations are toast. I wouldn't shed too many tears if he would resign.

You just told us how intelligent Cancun Cruz is.

Yes, even intelligent people make wrong decisions. Look at the pundits on CNN.

Heavy on the partisan politics, huh?

Decisions about the Texas power grid were made 80 years ago. It was retained under all the leaders since then. Those were both Democrats AND Republicans. Texans like to be independent, that is true. That isn't a Dem/Rep thing. It is a Texan thing.

In 1970, the electric oversight committee was formed after a huge power outage in 1965.

There are plenty of failures and there have been failures of the industry and politicians. Plenty to be unhappy about, if you live in Texas.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/texas-set-stage-its-energy-crisis-more-80-years-ago-n1258341

Since 1992, Republicans have held the majority in the House and Senate of Texas.

Until 1960, Democrats were the majority usually.

From 1960 to 1990, it was a mixed representation state.

A Democrat was governor almost always until 1980. Ann Richards was the last Democrat Texas Governor. Her term ended in 1995. Since then, they've had only 3 governors, all Republicans.

Texas needs term limits. Texans need to vote to ensure they hold their representatives accountable. Even people with whole-house generators fed from natural gas lines could have been without power last week due to low pressure in those lines. Many Texans will be installing 500 gal propane tanks this summer. Bet on it.

More importantly, they need an effective regulatory arm that will force rule changes to ensure utility infrastructure is winterized. It will cost them $B, but has to be done.

I seriously doubt the Texas electric grid will be connected to neighboring states, however.

The Texas Govt long ago ... late 1960s ... handed over control of the power grid in Texas to ERCOT.

Texas state representatives don't work full time like in a majority (40) of other states. Only 10 states have full time legislatures. They are paid part time salaries for part time work. https://house.texas.gov/resources/frequently-asked-questions/#how_leg

The Legislature of the State of Texas, operating under the biennial system, convenes its regular sessions at noon on the second Tuesday in January of odd-numbered years. The maximum duration of a regular session is 140 days.

That's about 5 months, every other year. Odd years, they earn about $45K. Even years, $38K.

Glad you admit the pundits on CNN are intelligent,

Hypothetical situation. lol

The issue with Cancun Cruz is he constantly makes bad decisions

Two sitting governors Newsom and Cuomo, both of these knuckleheads have made very, very bad decisions...

As the old Democrat expression goes, blame me for my actions, but don't blame me for my intentions.

So I guess Cruz's overall intentions were noble, even though he's a Senator and not a governor or a mayor he just represents that State and his constituents in DC, but yeah, he's a punching bag, can't blame Trump so....

such as encouraging Trump supporters to storm the Capital building and blaming his kids for his jaunt down to sunny Cancun.

Kids, huh?

So I guess Cruz's overall intentions were noble

Where was the nobility in going on vacation while your state starves and freezes? And before you say, "well, he can't do anything", AOC is a New Yorker and she raised four million dollars for afflicted Texans. Crux went on vacay.

Kids, huh?

No. The leaked texts show that Ted and his wife went to Cancun because they felt like it, because it was cold. Flyin' Ted threw his daughters under the bus because he's a spineless worm. Just like when Trump said his Dad killed JFK and his wife was ugly, and Cruz still bent the knee. Pathetic. Republicans have no sense of dignity.

Irrelevant to an article about Texas

It’s relevant because even with this hiccup, Texas is not going blue.

Great excuse for Cancun Cruz.

No excuse, just the truth.

It’s amazing that AOC doesn’t even live anywhere near Texas, but has done more for Taking it Easy Ted.

One time won’t win the Dems Texas, really!

I guess you’re not half as informed

I am..

Ric Grenell

“This Atlantic reporter has tweeted 13 times about Ted Cruz and yet I haven’t seen a single tweet from him on Andrew Cuomo’s scandal in the last 5 days. 

How does TheAtlantic allow this bias?! “

Irrelevant to an article about Texas

It’s relevant because even with this hiccup, Texas is not going blue.

Sure, just like someone back in Nov assured us all that Georgia wouldn't turn Blue....