Just now, mr_hunt said:

the crazy electric bills hit folks who chose a variable plan where they pay market prices...when the sheet hit the fan, demand spiked & market prices skyrocketed. the demand & corresponding price spike was a result of the outages but didn't have any role in causing them.

idk how/if customers are notified when there's a crazy price increase like this...or if they find out when they get their bill. 

Hope it was worth the $8 they were probably saving a month 

2 minutes ago, Paul852 said:

Oh, I'm aware of WHY the bills are the way they are. My question is HOW this was allowed to happen. Is this even a possibility in any other state in this country?

And does it result in astronomical bills for people lucky enough to have their power stay on?

So you would rather have no power than the option to either pay a lot for power or have no power?

1 minute ago, Paul852 said:

Oh, I'm aware of WHY the bills are the way they are. My question is HOW this was allowed to happen. Is this even a possibility in any other state in this country?

And does it result in astronomical bills for people lucky enough to have their power stay on?

Possible? I guess so, as there are other unregulated markets. But Texas is unique because it is unregulated AND independent of the national power grid. When a hurricane hits the Carolinas, they can source power from other states on the eastern grid, so the supply shortage isn't close to this acute. Texas can't. 

It's the result of the whole "don't mess with Texas" and "we can secede at any time" attitude. The rest of the country pools its resources to diversify risk -- Texas doesn't.

Just now, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

So you would rather have no power than the option to either pay a lot for power or have no power?

I'd rather have regulations to prevent this from happening. 

I find it odd the same people who are giving the power companies in Texas the benefit of the doubt as far as being prepared for this weather because it happens so infrequently are the same people saying the folks living there should have been prepared for this. Seems contradictory to me.

2 minutes ago, mr_hunt said:

the crazy electric bills hit folks who chose a variable plan where they pay market prices...when the sheet hit the fan, demand spiked & market prices skyrocketed. the demand & corresponding price spike was a result of the outages but didn't have any role in causing them.

idk how/if customers are notified when there's a crazy price increase like this...or if they find out when they get their bill. 

One company at least did in fact notify their customers

1 minute ago, vikas83 said:

Possible? I guess so, as there are other unregulated markets. But Texas is unique because it is unregulated AND independent of the national power grid. When a hurricane hits the Carolinas, they can source power from other states on the eastern grid, so the supply shortage isn't close to this acute. Texas can't. 

It's the result of the whole "don't mess with Texas" and "we can secede at any time" attitude. The rest of the country pools its resources to diversify risk -- Texas doesn't.

Yeah, that's mainly what I've been getting at. That should change.

Just now, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

One company at least did in fact notify their customers

griddy? i believe i read that they notified customers & actually encouraged them to change providers..but many didn't. 

Frankly, if I were the Federal Government, I'd condition relief funds on Texas joining the national power grid. It really is beyond stupid that they haven't.

Just now, mr_hunt said:

griddy? i believe i read that they notified customers & actually encouraged them to change providers..but many didn't. 

Some people couldn't change in time and had to wait a business day or two. 

I think the way I'm going to prepare for this is to not move to Texas.

7 minutes ago, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

There is no grid where everyone has power 100% of the time

 "You’d argue your own mother wasn’t really your mother if it meant furthering your narrative"

1 minute ago, Boogyman said:

I find it odd the same people who are giving the power companies in Texas the benefit of the doubt as far as being prepared for this weather because it happens so infrequently are the same people saying the folks living there should have been prepared for this. Seems contradictory to me.

Well I find it odd that the people who play Texans off as victims are so quick to blame the power companies for not being prepared when clearly most regular people didn’t think cold weather could happen either

Just now, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

Well I find it odd that the people who play Texans off as victims are so quick to blame the power companies for not being prepared when clearly most regular people didn’t think cold weather could happen either

I think I'd blame whoever made the decision to have Texas on its own grid.

1 minute ago, Boogyman said:

 "You’d argue your own mother wasn’t really your mother if it meant furthering your narrative"

I actually make sense when I talk

1 minute ago, Paul852 said:

Some people couldn't change in time and had to wait a business day or two. 

I think the way I'm going to prepare for this is to not move to Texas.

yessir. that's the best disaster preparedness plan on planet earf! 

3 minutes ago, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

Well I find it odd that the people who play Texans off as victims are so quick to blame the power companies for not being prepared when clearly most regular people didn’t think cold weather could happen either

They are not victims. Most of them wanted the system that they have in place. That doesn't means it's not a terrible system.

 

2 hours ago, Paul852 said:

Move over student loan forgiveness. Electric loan forgiveness is the new hot topic.

Someone got a $17,000 bill for the month. This is beyond ridiculousness. Trumpbots can whine all the want about the EPA, but this is failure on the republican leadership in the state. 

1 minute ago, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

I actually make sense when I talk

Guys, someone else wanna take this one?

I don’t buy this "we gotta connect to the national grid” theory.  Sounds like letting the socialist Trojan horse into your state

2 minutes ago, Paul852 said:

I think I'd blame whoever made the decision to have Texas on its own grid.

Exactly, they wanted their own grid to bypass federal regulations and then turned it over to an incompetent and evil corporation.  

Just now, Boogyman said:

Guys, someone else wanna take this one?

I've done enough.

Just now, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

I don’t buy this "we gotta connect to the national grid” theory.  Sounds like letting the socialist Trojan horse into your state

Just now, Seventy_Yard_FG said:

I don’t buy this "we gotta connect to the national grid” theory.  Sounds like letting the socialist Trojan horse into your state

Here in PA, I'm enjoying my socialist heat right now.

Just now, Gannan said:

Here in PA, I'm enjoying my socialist heat right now.

I may run my AC tonight just for the F of it. 

I’ll take my cheap electricity all day, and keep a wood stove in case of emergency 

Problem solved

You guys would rather invite Bernie Sanders to be your governor