How are Texas members doing?

[Debp]

With the freezing cold in Texas, power outages, lack of food and water, just wondering about our Texas members.   If you have power, maybe let us know about things there.  

I've heard the energy rates are astronomical there now, too.  

[Justin Adams]

16 minutes ago, Debp said:

I've heard the energy rates are astronomical there now, too.  

My daughter is ok, though some closeby have frozen water pipes. 

[exrockstar]

We pulled through. Things are fine. Friends are good. Texas people are strong. Thank you God.

Edited February 21, 2021 by exrockstar

[AnOrangeCat]

Electricity stayed on throughout for me. The pipes froze for a while but it cleared up without any apparent incidents, and I was able to borrow water from a neighbor with more effective insulation. Other people and towns near here had it worse but it's well above freezing now. I was so thankful to God when I was finally able to take a hot shower in my own home again.

[Big Time]

I went without power for about a day and a half and the water got shut off twice for a few hours overnight, but everything is OK.  Sunshine today

[Sower]

On 2/21/2021 at 5:59 AM, Debp said:

With the freezing cold in Texas, power outages, lack of food and water, just wondering about our Texas members.   If you have power, maybe let us know about things there.  

I've heard the energy rates are astronomical there now, too.  

Here in our small town in central Texas we had I guess the average amount of frozen pipes and electric outage.
Two-three days snow, frozen iced over roads shut down, snow finally melted off Saturday.
The power would go off for about an hour and back on about an hour, rotating to allow everyone power for necessary use. We have our own water well, and generator, for back up.
Huge long lines at all the plumbing shops,home depot/lowes etc, gas pumps and grocery stores. Shelves empty every where.
Though blue northers are common on the pan handle, this was a rare storm for Texas, staying below freezing so long.
Droughts (sometimes 7 yrs) tornadoes, hurricanes hail storms, etc are more the norm.
I can not understand anyone choosing to live up in the freezer of America. I have always lived in the frying pan:)
p.s.
The electric rates are actually below average here, and have not heard of any hike.........

[teddyv]

One good thing about losing power in a cold snap is that you don't have to worry about food spoiling. But that's about it.

[Debp]

7 hours ago, Sower said:

The electric rates are actually below average here, and have not heard of any hike.

On the news, a TX lady said she got a bill for $7,000.    A man said his bill was $1,000 a day.   Heard something about price gouging.

About frozen water pipes...does it help to let the faucet drip a little bit to help prevent freezing?    I know someone who used to do that years ago.

[Sower]

2 hours ago, Debp said:

On the news, a TX lady said she got a bill for $7,000.    A man said his bill was $1,000 a day.   Heard something about price gouging.

About frozen water pipes...does it help to let the faucet drip a little bit to help prevent freezing?    I know someone who used to do that years ago.

Was not aware of this, Debp. Thanks...

From Forbes:

"Texas being Texas, is the only state in the nation that operates its own electrical grid, and because key operations are confined within state lines, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) effectively operates without direct federal oversight (thanks to the Federal Power Act signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935). That leaves the Public Utility Commission of Texas to regulate prices in collaboration with ERCOT. Though the arrangement has helped save on energy costs, it also means ERCOT, which manages about 90% of the state's electrical load, can't access necessary capacity from the two other grids in the country in the case of an emergency. Ahead of the storm, ERCOT underestimated how much power it would need to deal with the cold conditions, causing the grid "to rely on fast-responding, expensive replacement generation," Griddy says, and ultimately leaving millions without electricity for days.

Too much of an opportunity for the fat cats to pass up.

"About frozen water pipes...does it help to let the faucet drip a little bit to help prevent freezing?    I know someone who used to do that years ago"

I used to do that many years ago, but if it is not a decent flow it often freezes up any way. I decided I did not want to keep going through the winter ritual freezing my derriere off each winter several times to prep for a freeze till late at night. I went ahead and installed shut off valves underground at each faucet (about a dozen) independently. Also, at the pump house and our co-op water, they also have shut offs. Close one valve, all out side valves shut off. (Thank you Jesus)
Then I open one faucet to allow the rest to drain down, at least the pressure. this storm only had one faucet freeze up, inside my shop, (I let it get pretty cold in there) but when thawed, came on and no busted pipes. I keep a large inventory of plumbing pipe and fittings as I live in the country away from city plumbing stores, so I stock up. Since the storm, the inventory has diminished some what, and was blessed to be able to be of help to those with busted pipes. Came home muddy today from church, helping the guys repair two more frozen water pipes, which had to be done for a funeral tomorrow.
All in all, for our family and friends, we came through the big freeze fine, mostly actually only inconvenient, as compared to so many that had no heat, water, or electricity and little food for days.
On the plus side, my wife and I had a whole lot of candle lit dinners...........

PS edit.

From Power Technology;
"Far and away the state leader of wind energy is Texas with a total installed capacity of 24,899MW, enough to power over six million homes"  (three times as much as the next 2 states)

I forgot. Our state has been receiving new influence that has encouraged the implementing of 'wind turbine  farms' throughout the state to where we depend upon them for almost one fourth (23%) of kilowatt production. Cool,  but the suckers freeze up in the cold. AND DID.
Texas is by far the largest oil-producing state in the United States, with a total production of 1.85 billion barrels in 2019. And now, almost 1/4 energy production is wind dependent. We should have succeeded from the Union.
Even Texas's days are doomed, with the mass exodus from other bankrupt states coming here with there votes.   (sorry Debp:)

From Reve;

"It is unfortunate then that wind energy has its own dark side: thousands of birds and bats are killed annually by wind turbines. Causes of death include collision and barotrauma—internal injuries caused by exposure to rapid pressure changes near the trailing edges of moving blades.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that between 140,000 and 500,000 bird deaths occur at wind farms each year. The most significant threat is posed to species of large, threatened and high-conservation-value birds such as golden and bald eagles, burrowing owls, red-tailed and Swainson’s hawks, peregrine and prairie falcons, American kestrels and white-tailed kites. Since large birds have much lower reproductive rates than small birds (golden eagles, for example, have just one or two chicks in a brood less than once a year), their deaths have a far greater impact on the overall population of the species.

Wind turbines have also been found to be one of the leading causes of mass bat mortality—with some studies pinning fatalities at 888,000 bats a year.

“Unprecedented numbers of migratory bats are found dead beneath industrial-scale wind turbines during late summer and autumn in both North America and Europe,” says Paul Cryan, a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “There are no other well-documented threats to populations of migratory tree bats that cause mortality of similar magnitude to that observed at wind turbines.”

 

 

 

[teddyv]

2 hours ago, Sower said:

Was not aware of this, Debp. Thanks...

From Forbes:

"Texas being Texas, is the only state in the nation that operates its own electrical grid, and because key operations are confined within state lines, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) effectively operates without direct federal oversight (thanks to the Federal Power Act signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935). That leaves the Public Utility Commission of Texas to regulate prices in collaboration with ERCOT. Though the arrangement has helped save on energy costs, it also means ERCOT, which manages about 90% of the state's electrical load, can't access necessary capacity from the two other grids in the country in the case of an emergency. Ahead of the storm, ERCOT underestimated how much power it would need to deal with the cold conditions, causing the grid "to rely on fast-responding, expensive replacement generation," Griddy says, and ultimately leaving millions without electricity for days.

Too much of an opportunity for the fat cats to pass up.

"About frozen water pipes...does it help to let the faucet drip a little bit to help prevent freezing?    I know someone who used to do that years ago"

I used to do that many years ago, but if it is not a decent flow it often freezes up any way. I decided I did not want to keep going through the winter ritual freezing my derriere off each winter several times to prep for a freeze till late at night. I went ahead and installed shut off valves underground at each faucet (about a dozen) independently. Also, at the pump house and our co-op water, they also have shut offs. Close one valve, all out side valves shut off. (Thank you Jesus)
Then I open one faucet to allow the rest to drain down, at least the pressure. this storm only had one faucet freeze up, inside my shop, (I let it get pretty cold in there) but when thawed, came on and no busted pipes. I keep a large inventory of plumbing pipe and fittings as I live in the country away from city plumbing stores, so I stock up. Since the storm, the inventory has diminished some what, and was blessed to be able to be of help to those with busted pipes. Came home muddy today from church, helping the guys repair two more frozen water pipes, which had to be done for a funeral tomorrow.
All in all, for our family and friends, we came through the big freeze fine, mostly actually only inconvenient, as compared to so many that had no heat, water, or electricity and little food for days.
On the plus side, my wife and I had a whole lot of candle lit dinners...........

PS edit.

From Power Technology;
"Far and away the state leader of wind energy is Texas with a total installed capacity of 24,899MW, enough to power over six million homes"  (three times as much as the next 2 states)

I forgot. Our state has been receiving new influence that has encouraged the implementing of 'wind turbine  farms' throughout the state to where we depend upon them for almost one fourth (23%) of kilowatt production. Cool,  but the suckers freeze up in the cold. AND DID.

Texas is by far the largest oil-producing state in the United States, with a total production of 1.85 billion barrels in 2019. And now, almost 1/4 energy production is wind dependent. We should have succeeded from the Union.
Even Texas's days are doomed, with the mass exodus from other bankrupt states coming here with there votes.   (sorry Debp:)

From Reve;

"It is unfortunate then that wind energy has its own dark side: thousands of birds and bats are killed annually by wind turbines. Causes of death include collision and barotrauma—internal injuries caused by exposure to rapid pressure changes near the trailing edges of moving blades.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that between 140,000 and 500,000 bird deaths occur at wind farms each year. The most significant threat is posed to species of large, threatened and high-conservation-value birds such as golden and bald eagles, burrowing owls, red-tailed and Swainson’s hawks, peregrine and prairie falcons, American kestrels and white-tailed kites. Since large birds have much lower reproductive rates than small birds (golden eagles, for example, have just one or two chicks in a brood less than once a year), their deaths have a far greater impact on the overall population of the species.

Wind turbines have also been found to be one of the leading causes of mass bat mortality—with some studies pinning fatalities at 888,000 bats a year.

“Unprecedented numbers of migratory bats are found dead beneath industrial-scale wind turbines during late summer and autumn in both North America and Europe,” says Paul Cryan, a research biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. “There are no other well-documented threats to populations of migratory tree bats that cause mortality of similar magnitude to that observed at wind turbines.”

 

 

 

There are wind farms in many cold climates like in parts of Canada that are designed around cold weather. With Texas rarely getting freezing temperatures those type were deemed unnecessary I suppose. 

As far as bird and bat kills, I think cats kill close to a billion every year in the US. Loss of birds and bats is of course not desired, but this is not a big component to such concerns.