Almost three years since the deadly Texas blackout of 2021, a panel of judges from the First Court of Appeals in Houston has ruled that big power companies cannot be held liable for failure to provide electricity during the crisis. The reason is Texas’ deregulated energy market.

The decision seems likely to protect the companies from lawsuits filed against them after the blackout. It leaves the families of those who died unsure where next to seek justice.

In February of 2021, a massive cold front descended on Texas, bringing days of ice and snow. The weather increased energy demand and reduced supply by freezing up power generators and the state’s natural gas supply chain. This led to a blackout that left millions of Texans without energy for nearly a week.

The state has said almost 250 people died because of the winter storm and blackout, but some analysts call that a serious undercount.

  • @clutchmatic
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    411 months ago

    The judge just said that the lawmakers who wrote the law and were elected by the people to do that writing didn’t consider electricity as a requirement of the people they represented

    • @xX_fnord_Xx
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      411 months ago

      Fucking Christ, did the judge calculate the amount of legally harvestable cord wood on their property as well?

      • @xX_fnord_Xx
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        11 months ago

        Not angry at the posters for sharing facts, I’m just Angered by them.