Life in Texas

[Muhammed45]

Life in Texas after heavy snowfall followed by freezing weather.

 

[Nan Yang]

Life in Texas after heavy snowfall followed by freezing weather.
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Those are ice cream !!! Whoa a trash bin filled with unopen ice cream packs....What a waste.

 

[Bossman]

The future of Trumpland USA

 

[Muhammed45]

Such a pity.

 

[bshifter]

America should just nuke Texas that will heat up the frozen state a bit

 

[Valar.]

Storm? Snowfall in Texas???? Since when? That too that freezing one? Is it normal to have snowfall there every year or is it first time? Is it related to climate change? I always thought of Texas as some hot place from cowboy movies etc.

 

[Muhammed45]

HomeUSA News

Outage outrage: Texans see power bills as high as $17,000 after brutal storm pummels grid & leaves millions without electricity
20 Feb, 2021 05:30 / Updated 2 hours ago

Overhead power lines are seen during record-breaking winter temperatures and widespread outages in Houston, Texas, February 17, 2021. © Reuters /

In the wake of a fierce winter storm that knocked out power for millions of Texans, some residents are reporting colossal spikes in their electricity bills, with some asked to pay more than $17,000 for just a few weeks of service.
As the Texas power grid was battered by a days-long snow and ice storm this week – prompting the state’s utilities manager, ERCOT, to impose rolling blackouts – a major shortage of electricity drove up wholesale costs to astronomical levels. While around four million Texans were left in the dark, some of those fortunate enough to not lose power are now reaping the whirlwind in the form of sky-high bills.
Texas resident Ty Williams told a local ABC affiliate that while he typically pays a combined $660 each month for his home, guest house and office, he’s been asked to shell out a shocking $17,000 this time around – and that’s just for the first half of February.
“How in the world can anyone pay that? I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month... there’s absolutely no way,” Williams said, adding: “It makes no sense.”

Pretty much you are being held hostage and there isn’t anything you can do about it.

When your electric company tells you to switch but there has been a hold on switching for over a week now. Using as little as possible 1300 sq ft house and this is my bill. . How is this fair. I only paid $1200 for the whole 2020 year @FoxNews@wfaa@tedcruz@GovAbbottpic.twitter.com/AylTS4m0j4
— kat and tony (@katandtonyT) February 18, 2021

A 38-year-old contractor, Royce Pierce, meanwhile, said he owes more than $8,100 for his electricity use so far this month, a sharp climb from his January bill of $387.79.
“It's mind-blowing. I honestly didn't believe the price at first,” Pierce told the Daily Beast. “It's not a great feeling knowing that there is a looming bill that we just can't afford.”

Friend of a friend just got this bill through griddy while going through rolling blackouts in a small house. This is extortion pic.twitter.com/wN9MEGHUAG
— Andrew Kochie (@AndrewKochie) February 17, 2021

Before the state was rocked by this week’s inclement weather, wholesale electricity in Texas went for less than $50 per megawatt-hour, according to ERCOT data. On Monday, however, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), a state regulator, ordered the grid manager to jack up prices to beyond $9,000 per megawatt-hour, citing “the scarcity conditions in the market” and its “complete authority over ERCOT.”

In an open meeting this evening, PUC commissioners directed @ERCOT_ISO to modify electricity pricing models to more accurately reflect the scarcity conditions in the market.Read more here: https://t.co/TbXR4qzy4V#ServingTexanspic.twitter.com/TjWvrjZRH2
— PUC of Texas (@PUCTX) February 16, 2021

Both Williams and Piece use power provider Griddy, which has come in for scathing criticism amid the price jumps. But the company has argued that PUCT’s order is to blame for the surge, insisting it “changed the rules” and kept costs “300x higher than the normal wholesale price,” even after the power grid regained sufficient capacity to return to normal levels. The explanation did little to quell critics, however.

This is so evil. If @GovAbbott has an ounce of common sense he’ll tell Griddy and the rest of these vipers to screw off and refuse to make Texans pay twice: once for the incompetence and now for the greed https://t.co/xaW3Kv0UrO
— Alex Leo (@AlexMLeo) February 19, 2021

While Griddy has kept mum about whether it would waive any of the price increases or offer some form of relief to customers, earlier this week it urged patrons to simply find another provider, with CEO Michael Fallquist saying: “We want what's right by our consumers, so we are encouraging them to leave.
“We made the unprecedented decision to tell our customers – whom we worked really hard to get – that they are better off in the near term with another provider,” he continued.
Griddy and a handful of other providers use a business model that exposes customers to fluctuations in wholesale energy costs in real time, charging a monthly fee of $9.99 on top of the direct cost of electricity. While that approach has often saved patrons money, it did the opposite this week, sending bills to unprecedented highs.
Another Texas provider owned by the city government of San Antonio, CPS Energy, suggested its customers could arrange a payment plan over “10 years or longer” to make the massive bills “more affordable.”

Q - Is CPSE going to provide payment relief to customers?A: We understand that it would be unacceptable to have customers bear the costs on their monthly bill, so we are working diligently to find ways to spread those costs to 10 years or longer to make it more affordable.
— CPS Energy (@cpsenergy) February 19, 2021

The offer was not received well, triggering threats of boycott and allegations of price gouging.
“Are you out of your minds? Those of us that had power AND STILL CONSERVED IT are getting rates jacked up?”wrote one irate resident. “I'm not paying 4x the amount I normally would, increased demand or not. Customers should NOT be eating the cost whatsoever.”

What happens if everybody just boycotts your *** and doesn’t pay anything? You forced us to get used to it during the worst temperatures possible. I’m sure we can handle the moderate weather we are having right now. How about that shit!
— (@Birdhouse_L) February 19, 2021

@DiegoBernalTX@Ron_Nirenberg@Trevino_D1 does this mean what it sounds like? Bill so large we need 10 years to pay them back? Sounds like illegal price gouging during a declared state of emergency. Will report accordingly if true.
— David Burleson (@dsburleson) February 19, 2021

As Texas gradually gets its power woes under control, over 100,000 residents remain without electricity, according to data gathered by poweroutage.us. Governor Greg Abbott, meanwhile, has called for a probe into ERCOT’s handling of the crisis, accusing the grid manager of lying about its ability to cope with the blizzard.
“They said five days before the winter storm hit – the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, ‘We’re ready for the cold temperatures coming our way,’” Abbott said, adding: “What happened this week to our fellow Texans is unacceptable and cannot be replicated again.”

 

[Type59]

HomeUSA News

Outage outrage: Texans see power bills as high as $17,000 after brutal storm pummels grid & leaves millions without electricity
20 Feb, 2021 05:30 / Updated 2 hours ago

Overhead power lines are seen during record-breaking winter temperatures and widespread outages in Houston, Texas, February 17, 2021. © Reuters /

In the wake of a fierce winter storm that knocked out power for millions of Texans, some residents are reporting colossal spikes in their electricity bills, with some asked to pay more than $17,000 for just a few weeks of service.
As the Texas power grid was battered by a days-long snow and ice storm this week – prompting the state’s utilities manager, ERCOT, to impose rolling blackouts – a major shortage of electricity drove up wholesale costs to astronomical levels. While around four million Texans were left in the dark, some of those fortunate enough to not lose power are now reaping the whirlwind in the form of sky-high bills.
Texas resident Ty Williams told a local ABC affiliate that while he typically pays a combined $660 each month for his home, guest house and office, he’s been asked to shell out a shocking $17,000 this time around – and that’s just for the first half of February.
“How in the world can anyone pay that? I mean you go from a couple hundred dollars a month... there’s absolutely no way,” Williams said, adding: “It makes no sense.”


A 38-year-old contractor, Royce Pierce, meanwhile, said he owes more than $8,100 for his electricity use so far this month, a sharp climb from his January bill of $387.79.
“It's mind-blowing. I honestly didn't believe the price at first,” Pierce told the Daily Beast. “It's not a great feeling knowing that there is a looming bill that we just can't afford.”

Before the state was rocked by this week’s inclement weather, wholesale electricity in Texas went for less than $50 per megawatt-hour, according to ERCOT data. On Monday, however, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), a state regulator, ordered the grid manager to jack up prices to beyond $9,000 per megawatt-hour, citing “the scarcity conditions in the market” and its “complete authority over ERCOT.”

Both Williams and Piece use power provider Griddy, which has come in for scathing criticism amid the price jumps. But the company has argued that PUCT’s order is to blame for the surge, insisting it “changed the rules” and kept costs “300x higher than the normal wholesale price,” even after the power grid regained sufficient capacity to return to normal levels. The explanation did little to quell critics, however.

While Griddy has kept mum about whether it would waive any of the price increases or offer some form of relief to customers, earlier this week it urged patrons to simply find another provider, with CEO Michael Fallquist saying: “We want what's right by our consumers, so we are encouraging them to leave.
“We made the unprecedented decision to tell our customers – whom we worked really hard to get – that they are better off in the near term with another provider,” he continued.
Griddy and a handful of other providers use a business model that exposes customers to fluctuations in wholesale energy costs in real time, charging a monthly fee of $9.99 on top of the direct cost of electricity. While that approach has often saved patrons money, it did the opposite this week, sending bills to unprecedented highs.
Another Texas provider owned by the city government of San Antonio, CPS Energy, suggested its customers could arrange a payment plan over “10 years or longer” to make the massive bills “more affordable.”

The offer was not received well, triggering threats of boycott and allegations of price gouging.
“Are you out of your minds? Those of us that had power AND STILL CONSERVED IT are getting rates jacked up?”wrote one irate resident. “I'm not paying 4x the amount I normally would, increased demand or not. Customers should NOT be eating the cost whatsoever.”


As Texas gradually gets its power woes under control, over 100,000 residents remain without electricity, according to data gathered by poweroutage.us. Governor Greg Abbott, meanwhile, has called for a probe into ERCOT’s handling of the crisis, accusing the grid manager of lying about its ability to cope with the blizzard.
“They said five days before the winter storm hit – the ERCOT CEO assured ERCOT, and I quote, ‘We’re ready for the cold temperatures coming our way,’” Abbott said, adding: “What happened this week to our fellow Texans is unacceptable and cannot be replicated again.”

US regulatory bodies have been left toothless. Companies can charge what they like without consequences. No way they can justify price hike.

 

[Muhammed45]

In portland, there is a similar condition which is forcing people into looking for food among trash. Sad

 

[tower9]

Late stage capitalism

 

[Dalit]

Not a single US cheerleader or member in this topic.

 

[dbc]

Not a single US cheerleader or member in this topic.

Funny how a Pakistani shows up to mock Americans.

Well the GDP of Texas is 20 times larger than Pakistan, bigger than Saudi and Russia with a population 10 times smaller than Pakistan.
Texas will be fine

 

[siegecrossbow]

I’m in Texas myself. Personally the situation is no where as bad as the media made it out to be, as i luckily have access to electricity, heat, and water, and only lost internet access for two days. Many of my friends weren’t so lucky and lost water and heating for several days. Worst case was a colleague whose roof partially collapsed. Fortunately he was able to secure temporary accommodations with his neighbor.

Snow has already started melting where I live and I expect things to get back to normal early next week.

 

[White and Green with M/S]

In portland, there is a similar condition which is forcing people into looking for food among trash. Sad
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And if similar situation will happen in any northern cities of Iran let suppose Tehran what will happen?? this situation can be happen anywhere in the world, you know what is the CLIMATE CHANGE??

 

[FuturePAF]

I’m in Texas myself. Personally the situation is no where as bad as the media made it out to be, as i luckily have access to electricity, heat, and water, and only lost internet access for two days. Many of my friends weren’t so lucky and lost water and heating for several days. Worst case was a colleague whose roof partially collapsed. Fortunately he was able to secure temporary accommodations with his neighbor.

Snow has already started melting where I live and I expect things to get back to normal early next week.

Do you expect Texans to call for new regulations on Ercot; to rebuild a more stable and reliable grid, more stable and reliable subsystems to keep power plants online, etc., despite that potentially causing an increase in the electrical bills?