Texas is experiencing its coldest temperatures in 32 years **No Politics**

[TXSTYLE]

Originally Posted by Sara504

We don’t have power. ARGH!!!!!!!

Welcome to my world....

[TXSTYLE]

We have never experienced anything like this and Millions of people are still suffering....
I am very grateful our power was restored fully Thursday night. And our water infrastructure is good.

[TXSTYLE]

My wife and I ventured out yesterday afternoon. The roads are definitely still covered in snow, ice, sand, etc. It was very slow going. Our local store was pretty stocked up with essentials except for bottled water. What's been you guys experience that also live here...

[S65Hunter]

My experience hasent been to bad. I've been out every day, my wife and I have a 2017 Forester that preforms amazing in the snow/ice. Stores have been pretty low on meat and other essential things. Thankfukly we had plenty of meat in the freezer, 3 rabbits, 5lbs of chicken and 4 pounds of deer chili. Also, never lost power or water. Sorry if it sounds like I'm bragging, I don't mean to. Just sharing my experience so far.

[aliiin]

I got fucked by variable rate electricity, $9.00 per kWh is pretty fun. It’s cheap when it’s cheap but when some shit like this happens it’s ridiculous. Decided to bust out the generator for the house as to not get price gouged.

Luckily never experienced the rolling blackouts.

Kept faucets dripping so water was not an issue either.

Went grocery shopping right before storm hit, had plenty of food.

The M sat in the garage the whole time. (Gonna be prepared to replace the lithium ion battery for $2,000 when it doesn’t fire up tmrw ).

All in all, not that bad for me compared to other people I read about on social media and news.

[Sara]

Gas main break..... what else can go wrong??

We have no flipping heat!!!

[S65Hunter]

I'm wondering how much my bill is going to be for this month. It's crazy that they can legally price gouge us like this. I'm on a teachers salary, trying to pay for my wedding and also paying a hefty rent for this house...

[aliiin]

Originally Posted by AlpineE93

I'm wondering how much my bill is going to be for this month. It's crazy that they can legally price gouge us like this. I'm on a teachers salary, trying to pay for my wedding and also paying a hefty rent for this house...

If you have a fixed rate plan it won't be bad at all and you'll be fine. If you have a variable rate plan... well that might hurt you real bad.

[Germanauto]

For all of the legitimate faults of California that deserve to be called out....this is not one of them. Perfect climate year-round and an endless amount of things to do, in SoCal at least. Always lived in cold weather prior to this and don't miss it. I feel for the people dealing with the treacherous conditions or suffering without power. One of my buddies in Dallas hasn't had it in a week.

[TXSTYLE]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/bus...0-000-n1258362

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by AlpineE93

I'm wondering how much my bill is going to be for this month. It's crazy that they can legally price gouge us like this. I'm on a teachers salary, trying to pay for my wedding and also paying a hefty rent for this house...

It isn’t gouging, it is the market price of electricity, a function of demand and supply, and the market price of nat gas (which can be curtailed for generators to ensure residential heat supplies). Electricity may be the only commodity that can’t be efficiently stored at scale, thus its price can vary widely when there is a supply/demand imbalance. Regulation used to smooth price impacts on consumers, but the move to deregulation also meant that consumers are on their own to either ride the variable curve, or pay a small premium to fix their price. Since there is a preference for low prices, I suspect most choose to ride the variable curve. This is the result. Mathematically, all those savings you thought you were getting for the last several years just came due in one bill. Sucks, but the physics and math are what they are.

States that chose to deregulate electricity, like Texas, forgot to consider the impact on availability and reliability or to protect from price blow outs. From here my comments would be political so I will self-censor.

[S65Hunter]

Well hopefully I'm at a fixed rate, my wife is the one who set up the with the electric company when we moved. I just pay it

[Todd0131]

We are fixed rate, thankfully. Never lost power once or had any gas/water issues. We did have my family, the in-laws, sister in law and her big ass barking dog with us for 3 days. It could have been worse.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

If you know what you are doing with home electrical systems, you can inexpensively add a portable generator to power the house during emergencies. If you have easy access to the breaker panel from outside, say through a window, you can make a male-to-male 240V, 80-amp extension cord for the generator and back-feed the panel through a NEMA plug wired into the panel.

Far less expensive than an automatic standby generator system and works almost as well. Eliminates extension cords running all over the house. This set up lets you choose which house circuits to power AFTER you SHUT the MAIN switch OFF (to prevent back-feeding the electrical grid). I've run my house for days at a time that way.

We have a similar set up but permanent / set up by an electrician. Our large portable (17.5 kw) generator plugs into a connector that is wired to a separate panel through the garage wall. In order to use the generator power you have to flip power source from Main / electric grid to generator to power this panel only. When running on main power both panels are powered. Happily have only used it once in 10+ years but it worked well and powers everything essential including one central ac, one water heater, refrigerator, stove, most lights and ceiling fans, etc. Getting / storing gasoline isn’t much fun and it isn’t as easy as an automatic standby but it cost 90% less than digging up the yard for propane tanks and getting a standby generator. So not a bad option at all.

[2000cs]

Originally Posted by ShopVac

I just finished building a battery storage in west Texas. Drained 40MW this morning to help out...at a rate of ~$9k per MW. Do the math...will do a few more times...to help out

Curious how this worked out. What I suspect is that the batteries drained at $9k/MW as you commented, but then recharged at higher prices. Perhaps they again discharged at a profit, but I’m speculating that they eventually got to where they were charging at high costs and discharging at lower prices as the market settled down. If so, was this a net profit or net loss?

Would more batteries on the TX system have helped or made it worse (by needing to recharge as demand was surging and supplies were limited)? Or would battery operation have to be one discharge and then sit out until prices stabilize?

[UncleWede]

Our boss was stuck in Austin until Friday. He likened the hotel to his time of a Navy vessel: twice a day they all lined up for a meal, then retired to their "cabin" with no where to go, nothing to do.

In support of my brothers in Texas, we turned off our furnace over the weekend. When I got up this morning it was colder in the house than outside; 60/61.

[dinonz]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Our boss was stuck in Austin until Friday. He likened the hotel to his time of a Navy vessel: twice a day they all lined up for a meal, then retired to their "cabin" with no where to go, nothing to do.

In support of my brothers in Texas, we turned off our furnace over the weekend. When I got up this morning it was colder in the house than outside; 60/61.

I appreciate your sacrifice. I think my house was closer to 60 earlier this week when the power went out.

[erickonphoenix]

what a difference a week makes.

12˚F Monday 2.15.21 vs 71˚F Monday 2.22.21

[TXSTYLE]

We will be in the 70s Tomorrow which represents an 80 degree temperature change within 1 week!

[UncleWede]

Variable rates on water too?

[joooiiiiii]

Be forewarned, this story will make you really depressed and sad.

https://news.yahoo.com/devastating-h...170707185.html

Devastating House Fire Claims Lives of 3 Children, Grandmother During Texas Winter Storm

A devastating house fire in Sugar Land, Texas, has claimed the lives of three children and their grandmother during the unprecedented Texas winter storm last week. What happened: Sugar Land Fire Department responded to a house fire call at around 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 16 on Vista Lakes near Edgewater, according to CNN.

The family’s mother, Jackie Pham Nguyen, 41, and her friend Mai Bui were saved from the fire, but her three children — Olivia, 11, Edison, 8, and Colette, 5, nicknamed Coco — and their grandmother, Loan Le, 75, died from the incident.

The two survivors suffered major burns, according to The Washington Post.

Nguyen said her mother, Le, spent the night at her house after her own power had gone out. There was still electricity when Le arrived at Nguyen’s home, but it didn’t last long. The electricity was cut hours later, and the family lit the fireplace to keep warm during the winter storm. They played cards during the blackout and by 9:30 p.m., they all prepared for bed.

“Tucked my kids into bed and really the next thing I know I'm in the hospital," she said. “A few hours later the fireman and police officer came and said that no one else made it."

It took fire officials two hours to fully contain the flame. Doug Adolph, a spokesperson for the city, said they have yet to find the cause of the fire.

“The family had posted on social media that they were attempting to stay warm by using a fireplace inside the home," Adolph said. “We can't say for sure that was the cause of the fire. We just don't know yet. It's possible that the investigation may never identify an exact cause."

Remembering her family: Nguyen described her children who attended St. Laurence Catholic as “phenomenal, amazing, little badass humans” while speaking to CNN.

Her two children, Olivia and Colette, would have celebrated back-to-back birthdays on March 27 and 28. Coco was a confident child who loved to dance and create videos on TikTok, her mother explained. She aspired to be a head cheerleader and a class president.

Olivia, her eldest, loved skiing with her mother. Even though she was only 11, Nguyen described her as “mature” and “so ahead of her peers.”

Edison, her middle child and who also had mild autism, was a “sweet boy” who was interested in modern art and architecture. “He just had a very deep appreciation for any visual aesthetics," Nguyen said. “So kind and so caring and so thoughtful. You wouldn't think an 8-year-old had that level of depth."

Le, a refugee from Vietnam, did all she could do to help her daughter by taking care of her grandchildren. She helped pick them up and drop them off for school and extracurriculars while Nguyen focused on reaching her professional goal in finance.

“My parents did everything for their kids, like, as immigrants, and coming to this country and then, that love that they gave me, it was tenfold when it came to the grandkids," Nguyen said. “I think grandmas are unsung heroes and untold stories."

Other details: Two GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to honor Nguyen’s three children, according to KHOU11.

The crowndfunding campaign will pay tribute to their memories with all proceeds donated to various charities that interest them, including performing and visuals arts, autism awareness, and reading and literacy.

"Our hearts are broken right now. However, your acts of kindness have given us some comfort to pull us through. We are forever grateful to you all," Nguyen wrote.

A second GoFundMe page, with the blessing of their father Nathan, is collecting funds for a foundation that will provide tuition assistance at St. Laurence Catholic School, where Nguyen's children attended, and to help raise awareness for fire safety.

[TiMSport]

Yep, I read that story yesterday. Tragic.