The situation in the state of Texas grows dire when the power grid collapses due to extreme cold temperatures. Without power, 4 million homes are without heat, light, internet, etc.
“Monday morning, as a jet stream brought frigid air south to the central United States, Texas residents found themselves facing rolling blackouts as the statewide grid struggled to meet demand amid a large shortfall in generating capacity. As the day wore on, many saw these blackouts extend for ever longer periods of the day, and grid authorities are expecting problems to extend into at least Tuesday. As of noon local time on Monday, the Southwest Power Pool, which serves areas to the north of Texas, also announced that demand was exceeding generating capacity.”
Texas has its own, private power grid and is not easily connected to either of the other two U.S. grids, so when Texas cannot generate enough power to meet its needs, there is a big problem. Unfortunately, Texas is seeing unexpectedly low temperatures that max out demand.
Power grids need to have excess capacity in all aspects – generating capacity, transmission capacity, etc.. Unfortunately, “excess capacity” and capitalism are at odds, because excess capacity is expensive but goes unused until it is needed.
“The Doomsday Book” by Marshall Brain lays out this scenario in amazing detail and offers solutions to prevent this doomsday scenario from unfolding. You can order the book today on Amazon and other retailers.