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Texas Energy and the Arctic Freeze Another perspective on the Texas power outage from a utilities consulting firm. By
KURT SWENSON, Property Cost Systems
W
e have all heard the assignment of blame to those responsible for the recent blackouts. The most popular scapegoats are the green energy initiatives, government policies, the lack of preparation and the grid operator. However, the reality is that there were failures on several levels. Why did blackouts happen? Unlike most states, the Texas electricity grid is independently operated and not overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Texas grid operator is the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Every generator, distribution company and supplier provides data to ERCOT so they can make sure that Texas has sufficient power generation to meet the electricity needs of the state. In just over a decade, Texas has increased wind and solar energy generation from 10% to 27%. The total power generation is divided amongst the categories in the chart on Page 42. According to renewableenergyworld.com, Texas is among the top five states with renewable energy installed capacity. This is an admirable achievement. The majority of the shift toward renewables has been in wind generation, accounting for a quarter of total electricity generated in the state. During the polar vortex, wind turbines were frozen and solar panels were covered with ice and snow, so nearly all of the 27% of electric generation was rendered useless.
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Texas also had some freeze-offs in the natural gas production, transmission, and distribution system. A “freeze-off” is a phenomenon in which ice blocks gas flow, clogging pipes. Since 38% of electricity generation in the state is fueled by natural gas-fired generators, having a portion off-line compounded the issue of diminished electricity generation. Texas has benefitted from low energy prices for decades, but the arctic freeze shed light on weaknesses within the electricity grid and natural gas system. The blackouts ultimately resulted from lack of planning and the loss of access to natural gas. ERCOT, the renewable electricity operators, the Public Utility Commission, the natural gas drillers and the gas transmission and distribution companies all share the blame. How do we prevent future blackouts? The most important preventative steps are to weatherize both the electricity and natural gas systems and to continue a broad-based electricity generation strategy. It is imperative for Texas to implement the winter weather practices used in colder climates. The electricity and natural gas markets in Chicago, New York and Boston operate through even colder temperatures than those recently experienced in Texas. Taking steps to winterize our energy complex may be expensive, but the cost is small compared to the human and financial costs of the midFebruary 2021 arctic freeze. Weatherizing our electricity grid and natural gas production, transmission and distribution syswww.haaonline.org
