On Wednesday evening, spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.

  • Texas power prices soared 20,000% Wednesday evening amid another brutal heat wave.

  • Spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.

  • The state’s grid operator issued its second-highest energy emergency, then later said conditions returned to normal.

    • lemmyvoreEnglish
      32•1 year ago

      Texas has plenty of power. Their problem is the delivery network. Their prices surge because power can’t be delivered to everybody, not because there isn’t enough for everybody.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•1 year ago

        I need you to explain this further? The price goes up because the demand on the grid goes up, and as the price goes up, typically additional generation comes online to take advantage of higher rates. I’m not saying it’s a good system by any means, but I don’t understand what you mean saying “power can’t be delivered to everybody”

          • @[email protected]English
            -10•1 year ago

            I’m abreast of this specific grid situation, and there’re absolutely improvements that need to be made, and also no, it’s not “a shambles.” Yes, there was a bottleneck this time, but also everyone’s power stayed on just fine

            • proleEnglish
              13•1 year ago

              Oh cool, so nobody died this time.

              Give it a few months when they start dying of exposure. At least once a year I see stories about Texas’ power grid shitting the bed and people dying as a result.

              How’s all that freedom going?

      • @[email protected]
        5•1 year ago

        They lead the nation, iirc. Not just in the space for it, but for the actual amount that’s been implemented.

        • WalrusDragonOnABike
          2•1 year ago

          The problem hasn’t been during the day. The supply and demand has a lag (sun comes out and its still cool and sun goes down and its still hot). The hottest part of the day has been about 6pm and then solar power starts declining before power use. That’s been when the shortages have been.

    • SeaJ
      2•1 year ago

      You ever been east of the mountains? It’s going to be over 90 where my parents are today. It was over 100 for quite a bit this summer.

    • @Viking_Hippie
      2•1 year ago

      If you had the same amount of heat, you’d have more sunlight hours and thus better conditions for solar power. If you had more wind, wind power etc.

      There’s no scenario anywhere in the world where the entire energy consumption and more can’t be supplied via renewable sources. All that’s missing is the political will to go against the fossil fuel industry.