"Texas Was Warned a Decade Ago Its Grid Was Unready for Cold"

"Federal regulators warned Texas that its power plants couldn’t be counted on to reliably churn out electricity in bitterly cold conditions a decade ago, when the last deep freeze plunged 4 million people into the dark.

They recommended that utilities use more insulation, heat pipes and take other steps to winterize plants -- strategies commonly observed in cooler climates but not in normally balmy Texas.

“Where did those recommendations go, and how were they implemented?” said Jeff Dennis, managing director of Advanced Energy Economy, an association of clean energy businesses. “Those are going to be some pretty key questions.”"

Ari Natter and Jennifer A Dlouhy report for Bloomberg February 17, 2021.

SEE ALSO:

"Can You Sue When the Power Goes Out? Liability Shields Explained" (Bloomberg Environment)

"Texas Grid Collapse Points To Looming Climate Tests" (E&E News)

"'The Windmills Failed.' Texas Crisis Fuels Climate Attacks" (E&E News)

"US Conservatives Falsely Blame Renewables For Texas Storm Outages" (Guardian)

"Texas Flunks Climate Change Test As Its Energy Grid Freezes Up" (CBS News)

"Utilities Say Lessons From Historic Storm Will Have To Wait, As Scientists, Politicians Eye Climate Change" (Oregon Public Broadcasting)

"Rick Perry: Texans Should Endure Blackouts To Keep Feds From Overseeing Power Grid" (HuffPost)

"Texas Clamps Down on Out-of-State Gas Sales Amid Shortages" (Bloomberg)

"Texas Mayor Tells Residents To Fend For Themselves During Power Outage: ‘Only The Strong Will Survive’" (Washington Post)

Source: Bloomberg, 02/18/2021