Why every state is vulnerable to a Texas-style power crisis – By Umair Irfan (VOX) / Mar 11 2021
“The infrastructure we have built right now really isn’t ready.”
The blackouts that gripped parts of Texas for days as temperatures dipped to record lows last month were stunning for a state that prides itself on its diverse and abundant energy supplies. Texas is the country’s largest oil producer, largest lignite coal producer, largest natural gas producer, and largest wind energy producer.
Yet despite its bountiful resources, every electricity source — natural gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar — fell short just as Texans needed to warm up the most.
Now that Texas has thawed out after an icy freeze left more than 4 million people in the cold and dark, heads are rolling.
This week, Texas Public Utility Commissioner Shelly Botkin resigned, leaving just one commissioner of the three-member group remaining. This follows a wave of resignations at the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the group that oversees the state’s power grid
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