It’s Cold
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and both parades have been postponed.
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Here it comes. Commentary is talking about misery. H-Town can’t handle sustained freezing weather. It didn’t help that we lost power in February of 2021. December of 2022 was also a miserable one right before Christmas. The owner of John Moore in his commercials says H-Town wasn’t built to handle cold weather.
The operators of the grid, the state of Texas, says the grid will be able to handle the freezing temperatures. You and I know that that’s a big lie. If they can figure how to make a few billion over the next few days for the energy companies, taking on casualties is no big deal to arsehole Gov. Greg Abbott.
Then the Texas Office of Public Utility Counsel tweeted this yesterday afternoon:
Due to continued freezing temperatures, very high demand, and unseasonably low wind, operating reserves are expected to be low during the morning hours on Monday, January 15, prior to the solar ramp up. @ERCOT-ISO is asking Texans to conserve electricity use.
Here is the official ERCOT statement that they put out yesterday:
(Austin, TX) – Due to continued freezing temperatures, very high demand, and unseasonably low wind, operating reserves are expected to be low during the morning hours of Monday, January 15, prior to the solar ramp up. As a result, ERCOT is asking Texans to conserve electricity use, if safe to do so, Monday, January 15, from 6 a.m. – 10 a.m. CT. ERCOT is expecting similar conditions on Tuesday, January 16, and will continue to closely monitor conditions and keep the public informed through our communication channels.
Tomorrow’s conservation appeal does not indicate ERCOT is experiencing emergency conditions at this time. ERCOT will remain vigilant and communicate further if conditions change because of continued freezing temperatures and very high demand in the morning hours. At this time, if you are experiencing an outage, it is local in nature and not related to overall grid reliability. Please check with your local electric provider for more information.
Conservation is a widely used industry tool that can help lower demand for a specific period of peak demand time, which is typically during the morning hours in winter.
ERCOT is requesting all government agencies (including city and county offices) to implement all programs to reduce energy use at their facilities until at least 10 a.m. tomorrow.
ERCOT continues to use additional tools to manage the grid reliably, including using reserve power, calling upon reductions by large electric customers that have volunteered to lower their energy use, and bringing more generation online sooner. ERCOT is also working with out-of-state Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Market Participants to obtain additional power generation capacity, if available. ERCOT has obtained Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) enforcement discretion, which allows a generator to extend its service/run-time/operations to help meet demand, if needed, and maintain grid reliability.
Comforting, don’t you think?
I am as ready as can be. I got grub, water, gloves, head gear, and other attire to keep me warm. I am also well-stocked with Saint Arnold.
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The GOP will hold their caucuses in Iowa this evening. Let’s see who comes in second place.
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Commentary and my nephew David went to NRG Saturday afternoon to see the Texans put on a dominant performance over the Browns. We were ahead 24-14 at the half and ended up winning 45-14.
The H-Town Mayor was there along with his daughter Sarah and our campaign leader Diana Patino. We hung with them before the game and during halftime. Sen. Carol Alvarado was there with our friend Gerard Torres. I also ran into my old pal Nelda. I chatted with my other pal Rusty Hardin in a concession line.
They even had a mariachi band play during a timeout. Cool.
David and I stayed for the entire game. The featured photo is David and me at NRG on Saturday. Club level seats on the 40-yard line ain’t bad at all. I also took a photo of David with the Mayor.
If the Bills win today, we will go to Baltimore next weekend to face the Ravens. If the Steelers win today, we will go to KC to play the Chiefs. I prefer to go to the city that will have the best weather conditions.
Stay safe and stay warm.
