cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/9672745
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.
So now cops don’t have to protect and serve during shootings and power companies don’t have to provide electricity during emergencies.
Damn Texas, nobody wants to do their jobs there huh? Thought the Texas motto was “Friendship” not “I don’t wanna”
Little did we know, the single star on their flag was a review.
strange how this kind of things happens both in texas and communist countries.
How dare you infringe upon my freedom to die by preventable means.
I think you mean your freedom to be murdered by easily preventable means.
At the same time though, I think if you arrested criminals and then put them in a room that kept getting colder and colder and colder until they froze to death that the entire world would be up in arms about your cruelty.
Thank jebus we live with freedom and privatization, rather than one of those socialist hell holes that, checks notes, cares about its people
I think Texas is in for a rude awakening one of these days, when they realize that electricity doesn’t care if you are poor or rich, it just does what it wants.
Sure, the rich can insulate themselves with solor power and generators. Though I think the public perception will win out at the end. As people, even the rich, realize that 3rd world countries only have these problems.
That’s definitely a third world country problem.
I don’t know how Texas can even call itself part of the first world when it doesn’t even provide reliable electricity to the people that pay them for the electricity.
I’m (still) in TX and bought a generator this summer.
The free market taking care of any and all problems again. See? The system works fine!
Texas gonna find out the hard way what a dumbfuck idea it was to secede from the union.
I mean look how Brexit turned out to the rest of the EU.
While forcing us to pay for the outsourced power they purchased during the blackout… Any normal company would have to eat that loss.
I mean if you read it its actually reasonable. The deaths were partly due to extreme weather driving up demand and physically freezing gas pipelines and partly due to the state government being completely incompetent at managing infrastructure. So I really don’t think the energy companies are at fault in this situation.
