The cold was unnatural, but even during that cold spell, Biden’s Energy Dept. told the major energy supplier in Texas to regulate the energy output to remain within “environmental standards” or they would charged astronomical amounts. They did regulate it, but must’ve not been enough, because they still tried to charge customers like $20k for that 4 day period or whatever it was. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/02/f82/DOE%20202%28c%29%20Emergency%20Order%20-%20ERCOT%2002.14.2021.pdf
Hold up. Texan here. ERCOT proposed the price to the Department of Energy and they agreed. That is all. Blame goes squarely on ERCOT.
The price for some customers got crazy because in Texas you can choose your power provider in many cases. Some people chose wholesale providers. This means they're paying at whatever the current rate is and it went into the stratosphere. (you can usually save money by getting on a wholesale plan, but not in this case)
The blame squarely goes on ERCOT. They should have known from a freeze in a recent prior year. They really didn't send off any warning bells that would allow the local news to tell people to prepare for the worst.
The cold was unnatural, but even during that cold spell, Biden’s Energy Dept. told the major energy supplier in Texas to regulate the energy output to remain within “environmental standards” or they would charged astronomical amounts. They did regulate it, but must’ve not been enough, because they still tried to charge customers like $20k for that 4 day period or whatever it was. https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2021/02/f82/DOE%20202%28c%29%20Emergency%20Order%20-%20ERCOT%2002.14.2021.pdf
Hold up. Texan here. ERCOT proposed the price to the Department of Energy and they agreed. That is all. Blame goes squarely on ERCOT.
The price for some customers got crazy because in Texas you can choose your power provider in many cases. Some people chose wholesale providers. This means they're paying at whatever the current rate is and it went into the stratosphere. (you can usually save money by getting on a wholesale plan, but not in this case)
The blame squarely goes on ERCOT. They should have known from a freeze in a recent prior year. They really didn't send off any warning bells that would allow the local news to tell people to prepare for the worst.
Oh wow, I did not realize that. That document I shared reads like the DoE made the rules. Thanks for the clarification!
Yeah, some people posted what you did, but after I looked into it I found the ERCOT request.
https://www.click2houston.com/news/investigates/2021/02/23/ercot-asked-feds-to-pause-federal-environmental-limits-during-winter-storm/
Fellow Texan here, and I can verify every word my Fren has told y'all.