• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Texas Grid is on the Edge Again!

Page 8 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
SteveGrabowski said:
The wind was blowing fine. They shut down wind generation because their transmission lines couldn't handle it.
Click to expand...
Wow! What utter morons. I just really don't understand this. If this were happening in New Hampshire, customers would pull every lever they have (mainly the politicians) to get it fixed.
 
SteveGrabowski said:
The wind was blowing fine. They shut down wind generation because their transmission lines couldn't handle it.
Click to expand...

That seems like a common issue with the Freedumb Grid.

Someone cheaps out and cuts corners in the design phase, probably to hit a bonus. Then when the crap hits the fan, it's someone else's fault.
 
Ajay said:
Wow! What utter morons. I just really don't understand this. If this were happening in New Hampshire, customers would pull every lever they have (mainly the politicians) to get it fixed.
Click to expand...
They're not morons. The grid is working exactly as it was designed to by our two most recent governors and the Texas Public Utility Commission. It's a tool used to mine wealth from the people, hence all the gas that gets pulled every day to try to squeeze the price up to the $5500 per MWhr price cap.
 
SteveGrabowski said:
They're not morons. The grid is working exactly as it was designed to by our two most recent governors and the Texas Public Utility Commission. It's a tool used to mine wealth from the people, hence all the gas that gets pulled every day to try to squeeze the price up to the $5500 per MWhr price cap.
Click to expand...
Ah, Texas Oil and Gas good ole boy network.
 
Last edited:
SteveGrabowski said:
Gas companies managed to squeeze the price to $5000/MW hr twice today.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry but I'm missing something here.

That's $5000 per MWhr. That's about £4000 per MWhr!

I'm tired and a bit stoned but UK electricity costs about £90 per MWhr. And thats in this inflated cost era. I must be mistaken about those prices, here's no way that US electric is that much more!
 
WelshBloke said:
I'm sorry but I'm missing something here.

That's $5000 per MWhr. That's about £4000 per MWhr!

I'm tired and a bit stoned but UK electricity costs about £90 per MWhr. And thats in this inflated cost era. I must be mistaken about those prices, here's no way that US electric is that much more!
Click to expand...
They try to push wholesale prices that high in peak times. Sometimes they manage to get the price up to $5000 per MWhr for an hour or two. Or in 2021's case they got it to $9000 per MWHr for five days and now we pay a monthly surcharge for that on top of our regular bill. Real time price right now is $23 per MWhr wholesale. It'll go way higher later in the day.

 
WelshBloke said:
I'm sorry but I'm missing something here.

That's $5000 per MWhr. That's about £4000 per MWhr!

I'm tired and a bit stoned but UK electricity costs about £90 per MWhr. And thats in this inflated cost era. I must be mistaken about those prices, here's no way that US electric is that much more!
Click to expand...
Here’s a good example:

IMG_4327.jpeg
Right now (morning in Texas) the demand is low so wholesale market prices are less than $30 / MWH - so cheaper than your power price.

However once evening rolls around and the temperature gets really high, everyone’s AC is running and solar and wind drop off then market prices shoot up.

Now the thought here is by raising prices power providers will want to dump power on the grid to get paid more. The more who do this will cause the prices to stabilize and drop and the markets will find the lowest price to provide power. Instead it sure seems like power providers are manipulating their down times to artificially limit production to boost the prices as high as possible - $5000/mwh.

Still I’m on a fixed price contract at $0.126 /kWh or $126/mwh. So they make money when wholesale prices are below $126/mwh but they lose money when wholesale prices are above that. There’s definitely some shenanigans going on.
 
SteveGrabowski said:
They try to push wholesale prices that high in peak times. Sometimes they manage to get the price up to $5000 per MWhr for an hour or two. Or in 2021's case they got it to $9000 per MWHr for five days and now we pay a monthly surcharge for that on top of our regular bill. Real time price right now is $23 per MWhr wholesale. It'll go way higher later in the day.

Click to expand...
Sounds like it's just the usual petroleum use any excuse to raise prices immediately then take their sweet time rolling them back down. Oh yea, it's Texas.
 
Paratus said:
Here’s a good example:

View attachment 85585
Right now (morning in Texas) the demand is low so wholesale market prices are less than $30 / MWH - so cheaper than your power price.

However once evening rolls around and the temperature gets really high, everyone’s AC is running and solar and wind drop off then market prices shoot up.

Now the thought here is by raising prices power providers will want to dump power on the grid to get paid more. The more who do this will cause the prices to stabilize and drop and the markets will find the lowest price to provide power. Instead it sure seems like power providers are manipulating their down times to artificially limit production to boost the prices as high as possible - $5000/mwh.

Still I’m on a fixed price contract at $0.126 /kWh or $126/mwh. So they make money when wholesale prices are below $126/mwh but they lose money when wholesale prices are above that. There’s definitely some shenanigans going on.
Click to expand...
Get a big battery bank and charge it up when the electric is cheap!
 
WelshBloke said:
I'm sorry but I'm missing something here.

That's $5000 per MWhr. That's about £4000 per MWhr!

I'm tired and a bit stoned but UK electricity costs about £90 per MWhr. And thats in this inflated cost era. I must be mistaken about those prices, here's no way that US electric is that much more!
Click to expand...
Everything is bigger in Texas!
 
WelshBloke said:
Get a big battery bank and charge it up when the electric is cheap!
Click to expand...
Actually I think that’s exactly what Tesla is doing. They are acting like a power provider and allowing their power wall customers to provide power to grid during high demand times and then splitting the proceeds with them.
 
WelshBloke said:
Get a big battery bank and charge it up when the electric is cheap!
Click to expand...

There is actually a boom in power grid-attached battery storage capacity here in Texas. It makes sense to buy(charge) low and sell high when the prices have such a wild variance.

I'm hoping that will help the state expand the renewables even further, but I won't be surprised if the lack of good transmission lines limits that.
 
I wouldn't be surprised to see the state "confiscate" the stored power during times of emergency....MAYBE reimburse folks at the normal wholesale price.
 
BoomerD said:
I wouldn't be surprised to see the state "confiscate" the stored power during times of emergency....MAYBE reimburse folks at the normal wholesale price.
Click to expand...
Most (all?) jurisdictions require storage systems to have transfer switches to prevent backflow to the grid.
 
MrSquished said:
I'm pretty sure a lot of people regret making that move to your now second world power grid state and also fascist state. I've read plenty of stories of people who are now locked into low interest rates and even with the profit they'd make can't afford to move to get the fuck out of that shit hole state, without having to move to another shithole state.

The cool liberal cities just got way too crowded, too much traffic, weather is way more shitty, no beaches, no mountains, second class tech scene, The power grid is run by Enron wannabes, women are like in the handmaid's tale.

Talk about buyers remorse. Saving a little money 3 years ago ain't worth the price of admission to that shit show.
Click to expand...
Texas has some mountains, and a shit ton of beaches.
 
Ajay said:
Wow! What utter morons. I just really don't understand this. If this were happening in New Hampshire, customers would pull every lever they have (mainly the politicians) to get it fixed.
Click to expand...
Most of the morons in Rural Texas would live on the streets before they voted for a democrat. So the republicans have zero incentive to not be corrupt pieces of shit.
 
Zorba said:
Texas has some mountains, and a shit ton of beaches.
Click to expand...

Please show me a liberal Texas city where people from California went to like Austin with such great beach access and great weather.

And as far as natural beauty goes if you want to talk up Texas go ahead, but it's a speck of dust compared to the west coast.
 
MrPickins said:
There is actually a boom in power grid-attached battery storage capacity here in Texas. It makes sense to buy(charge) low and sell high when the prices have such a wild variance.

I'm hoping that will help the state expand the renewables even further, but I won't be surprised if the lack of good transmission lines limits that.
Click to expand...

They'll just ban people or put strict pricing limits on selling to the grid.

Its like Texas decided to force people to have to build their own green energy setups so they are self-reliant and then they'll go "see we're the most self-reliant". Fortunately by the time that's likely to happen there will be ample opportunity for Texans to do something about the political cesspit that is their government. Unfortunately I don't have a lot of hope that will happen even by then and instead Texas starts going Mad Max instead.
 
MrSquished said:
Please show me a liberal Texas city where people from California went to like Austin with such great beach access and great weather.

And as far as natural beauty goes if you want to talk up Texas go ahead, but it's a speck of dust compared to the west coast.
Click to expand...
Stating facts, isn't talking up it's natural beauty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top