The Texas power grid failure that left millions of people struggling without power in freezing conditions sparked a feud between Democrats and the Republican Party over the decades-long supervision of Republicans in the energy industry and prompted calls for a more weather-resistant system extreme climatic conditions.
Texas evaded federal regulation by establishing its own power grid that is almost cut off from the rest of the country – an isolated system that conservatives in power have long praised.
But the system collapsed this week due to an increase in energy demand along with plants frozen during a brutal winter storm, which then raised energy prices and triggered the state’s worst blackouts in decades.
Former deputy Beto O’Rourke, D-TX, blamed Texas Republican leaders for prioritizing “stupid cultural wars”, such as efforts to make Texas a “sanctuary state” rather than protecting residents from weather events extremes aggravated by climate change.
“A lot of that was preventable,” O’Rourke said this week in an interview with MSNBC. “Going back to the deregulation of our power grid in Texas, which created an incentive not to protect against the weather or to protect against these events.”
“The energy capital of North America cannot provide enough energy to heat and power people’s homes,” continued O’Rourke. “We are approaching a failed state in Texas. And it has nothing to do with God or natural disasters. It has everything to do with those in positions of public trust who have failed us ”.
David Mudge, 59, wipes away a tear as he takes refuge in a shelter after record winter temperatures in Galveston, Texas, on February 18, 2021.
Adrees Latif | Reuters
The interruptions have led to widespread public criticism from lawmakers and state agencies over their apparent failure to heed warnings about the network’s inability to deal with extreme weather conditions. Energy experts said the collapse was partly due to the state’s decision not to require equipment upgrades for a more resilient system.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday that she expects the House Energy and Commerce Committee to investigate energy problems in Texas.
Jennifer Granholm, appointed by President Joe Biden as energy secretary, said the United States should update its network infrastructure as soon as possible. “One thing is for sure: America’s power grid is simply not capable of handling extreme weather events,” she wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.
Although the Republican Party has overseen the state’s energy sector for decades, Republican Governor Greg Abbott, along with other conservative state leaders, falsely blamed the disruptions on renewable energy sources like wind and solar, which represent only a small fraction of the state’s energy.
Abbott said in an interview with Fox News this week that reliance on wind and solar power “pushed Texas into a state where power was lacking across the state,” an argument that was contradicted by his own energy department.
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Texas blackouts show how vulnerable the grid is to climate change
How the network failed and what could prevent it from happening again
Texas disruptions hit water supplies as thousands struggled without power for the fourth day
Julian Castro, a former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, tweeted: “Governor Abbott was not prepared for this storm, he was too slow to respond and now he blames everyone but himself for this mess.”
“He neglected the state’s outdated and unregulated power grid,” said Castro, who also served as secretary to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rick Perry, the former Texas governor and Trump administration energy secretary, proclaimed on Wednesday that Texans prefer to endure even longer interruptions “to keep the federal government out of their business” and prevent Democrats from implementing regulations for deal with climate change.
Still, the vast majority of this week’s outages stemmed from problems with limited production of natural gas and frozen supplies of natural gas, coal and nuclear facilities – not from solar and wind failures.
Empty shelves in the meat aisle at a grocery store in McKinney, Texas, USA, on Wednesday, February 17, 2021.
Cooper Neill | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Although solar and wind power went offline because frozen blades made wind turbines inoperable, these technologies account for only a small fraction of electricity in Texas. The state has increased wind power in recent years, but only relies on wind power for 25% of electricity production, according to data from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
Texas Republican lawmakers who scoffed at Democratic-led blackouts during extreme heat waves in California were also criticized this week after the network’s collapse in their home state led to blackouts.
Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in August blamed Biden and Kamala Harris, who were running for president and vice president, for wanting to make “California’s failed energy policy the standard across the country.”
Pictures on social media on Thursday reportedly showed Cruz flying to Mexico, even with millions of Texans still unheated during historically low temperatures.
Deputy Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Wrote in a tweet this week that problems with the Texas power grid should be a message for lawmakers to pay attention to his words during emergencies.
“I hope this will teach Texas politicians to stop diving into other states when they are experiencing disasters,” Gallego wrote. “All Americans deserve help and empathy from other Americans, whether it is a blue or a red state.”