Skip to content
Do you have adblock enabled?
 
If you can read this, either the style sheet didn't load or you have an older browser that doesn't support style sheets. Try clearing your browser cache and refreshing the page.

(Austin News KXAN)   Texas swears it'll have all power restored by February 12. This year   (kxan.com) divider line
83
    More: Followup, Rain, Winter storm, Thunderstorm, Ice, Ice storm, Management, Beaufort scale, Weather  
•       •       •

2037 clicks; posted to Main » on 07 Feb 2023 at 1:05 AM (6 weeks ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook



83 Comments     (+0 »)
View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all

 
King Something [TotalFark]
2023-02-06 8:09:24 PM  
Texas says lots of things.
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2023-02-06 8:38:41 PM  
It looks like hurricane damage here. All trees destroyed by ice.
Many many damaged power lines. Totally different than what happened two years ago.
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2023-02-06 9:15:35 PM  
.. Not that Texas doesn't deserve some criticism for everything else.
 
KarmicDisaster [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-06 9:42:21 PM  
Meanwhile we'll just charge you more if you have power.
 
SoupGuru [TotalFark]
2023-02-06 9:55:28 PM  
Sometimes really bad things happen and shiat falls over and you lose power to lots of people. There's not much you can do about it.

But what's hilarious is when stuff like this goes wrong in Texas, they make sure it goes really wrong.
 
433 [TotalFark]
2023-02-06 9:55:39 PM  

KarmicDisaster: Meanwhile we'll just charge you more if you have power.


Not unless you're STILL signed with one of those awful deregulation companies.  Everyone else is locked in for the year.  They'll raise the rate and charge more next year and pass off the costs just like any other business.
 
2fardownthread [recently expired TotalFark]
2023-02-07 12:23:46 AM  
Well! Good news! So,... going forward, what is going to change and how are things like this going to be prevented or mitigated? See, this seems to be the thing there is not enough of with these Texas emergencies. I would love to hear how a utility commission changes this and that to meet future demand and emergencies. Is any of that going on? Better maintenance? Rapid response repair teams? Distributed generation? Emergency trains or mobile generators? Is the grid just too decrepit? Is demand growth too high?

It shows competence when you can get in front of the public, explain the problem, explain what you did, and explain why it won't happen again.

Because I have a theory that this is not just incompetence, but it is the result of about 6 performance criteria that ERCOT is having to deal with rather than about 2. And it is not an uncommon problem around the world. If that is the problem, ERCOT should come out and say it.
 
2fardownthread [recently expired TotalFark]
2023-02-07 12:29:07 AM  
"it costs money to have a reliable, isolated, rapidly expanding, 100% reliable grid that can be fixed quickly, and which does not pollute a lot. And people are going to have to pony up more money to pay for that."

People don't say that enough.

They should. Lest people think that a few more panels, batteries, and wind turbines are the cheap fix that Texas needs.
 
snowjack [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 12:37:16 AM  
Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.
 
TorpedoOrca
2023-02-07 1:08:46 AM  
Hey! This year! That's good, right? I'll totally vote for Greg Abbott again since he totally promised to fix the power grid and then he didn't but then he promised to fix it this year
 
daffy
2023-02-07 1:13:47 AM  
My son and daughter in law live two hours east of Dallas and their power has been more off then on for days now. I keep telling them to bring their sons to Florida, it's beautiful here, but they keep saying no.
 
Gordon Bennett [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 1:18:00 AM  
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
maxandgrinch [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 1:21:42 AM  
I had to check the date to make sure today wasn't February 11th. Of this year.
 
TorpedoOrca
2023-02-07 1:21:42 AM  

daffy: My son and daughter in law live two hours east of Dallas and their power has been more off then on for days now. I keep telling them to bring their sons to Florida, it's beautiful here, but they keep saying no.


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Madman drummers bummers [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 1:22:57 AM  
"We are now focusing on the most complicated restoration efforts. The smaller outages with unique damage," she said.

Which totally by coincidence are in the rich, white areas.
 
whr21
2023-02-07 1:25:08 AM  

2fardownthread: "it costs money to have a reliable, isolated, rapidly expanding, 100% reliable grid that can be fixed quickly, and which does not pollute a lot. And people are going to have to pony up more money to pay for that."

People don't say that enough.

They should. Lest people think that a few more panels, batteries, and wind turbines are the cheap fix that Texas needs.

'Cuz there's no capital anywhere in the country then the pockets of the plebs.
So dammnit if they expect to continue to live in the "first world" conditions they have become so accustomed to, they can damn well kick down, do they expect some kind of hand out from their betters?
 
mikalmd
2023-02-07 1:25:43 AM  
Appears they got what they voted for ..
 
robodog
2023-02-07 1:25:58 AM  
For once I'm going to give Texas a pass. One of the YouTube channels I follow is Whiskey Tribe. They're based out of Dripping Springs which is West-Southwest of Austin. They did a shoot at the distillery the day after the storm, a single blade of grass was covered in ice thicker than the hosts thumb. Pretty much nowhere is going to do well with that kind of ice unless all non-trunk power lines are buried (and then you've got problems with long term line maintenance).
 
khatores
2023-02-07 1:28:51 AM  

snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.


No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.
 
BlueBox [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 1:38:27 AM  

Gordon Bennett: [Fark user image 850x712]


He's saying that because he bought the last generator a Harbor Freight.  He only means at his house.
 
fragMasterFlash [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 1:42:35 AM  
Losing out on TX ad revenue on Stupor Bowl Sunday? UNPOSSIBLE!
 
mononymous
2023-02-07 1:46:02 AM  
bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.comView Full Size
 
ReapTheChaos
2023-02-07 1:46:07 AM  

snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.


khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.


Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.
 
ArcadianRefugee
2023-02-07 1:48:38 AM  

Gordon Bennett: [Fark user image image 850x712]


...at my place.
 
mononymous
2023-02-07 1:48:55 AM  
mercurynews.comView Full Size
 
RolandTGunner [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 1:50:44 AM  

robodog: For once I'm going to give Texas a pass. One of the YouTube channels I follow is Whiskey Tribe. They're based out of Dripping Springs which is West-Southwest of Austin. They did a shoot at the distillery the day after the storm, a single blade of grass was covered in ice thicker than the hosts thumb. Pretty much nowhere is going to do well with that kind of ice unless all non-trunk power lines are buried (and then you've got problems with long term line maintenance).


Yeah there was about in inch of ice on everything. Down the street from my house four power poles went down just from the weight, no trees involved.
Fark user imageView Full Size
 
FatherChaos [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 1:51:26 AM  
Didn't we just have a story about Texas having a huge tax surplus this year?

I guess it all went to hookers and blow instead of, you know, making sure their power grid wouldn't catastrophically fail. Again.
 
433 [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 2:07:14 AM  

FatherChaos: Didn't we just have a story about Texas having a huge tax surplus this year?

I guess it all went to hookers and blow instead of, you know, making sure their power grid wouldn't catastrophically fail. Again.


The power grid was fine, as explained over and over.  The same ice storm caused outages to an estimated 60 million people across the country.
 
My Sober Alt
2023-02-07 2:12:57 AM  
I know it's expensive to lay underground cable and places like Houston have a high water table, but when I lived there our power went out a few times a year..  Usually it was only for an hour or a few, but that's not normal, is it?

I think trees too close to power lines probably did most of the damage.
 
My Sober Alt
2023-02-07 2:29:10 AM  

FatherChaos: Didn't we just have a story about Texas having a huge tax surplus this year?

I guess it all went to hookers and blow instead of, you know, making sure their power grid wouldn't catastrophically fail. Again.


And football stadiums for rich high schools
 
TorpedoOrca
2023-02-07 2:29:17 AM  

433: FatherChaos: Didn't we just have a story about Texas having a huge tax surplus this year?

I guess it all went to hookers and blow instead of, you know, making sure their power grid wouldn't catastrophically fail. Again.

The power grid was fine, as explained over and over.  The same ice storm caused outages to an estimated 60 million people across the country.


Eeeeeexcept it wasn't and Greg Abbott killed at least 7 people again this year

Seven people have been reported dead from an ice storm that has hiat Texas and caused more than 400,000 power outages across the state.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3840856-7-deaths-reported-from-texas-ice-storm-outages-top-400k/amp/
 
SomeFarkinFarmgirl
2023-02-07 2:30:53 AM  

ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.


Those in charge in Texas knew that having a major ice storm was imminent. They should have made sure that there were adequate resources available to deal with the problem. Winter storms are becoming more common in the southern states and it would behoove them to have both a plan and the necessary supplies to treat their roadways and fix downed power lines. Utilities providers in a state that size should be required to have enough manpower available to deal with widespread outages due to winter storms, hurricanes, etc. People are criticizing Texas because the state government would rather hope that experiencing actual winter is just a one-time aberration instead of spending the money to make sure that they can deal with it properly the next time it inevitably occurs.
 
weed clipper
2023-02-07 2:48:00 AM  

Gordon Bennett: [Fark user image 850x712]


The lights in the governor's mansion that is.  He has that magic R behind his name.  That means automatic reelection.
 
ReapTheChaos
2023-02-07 3:01:07 AM  

SomeFarkinFarmgirl: ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.

Those in charge in Texas knew that having a major ice storm was imminent. They should have made sure that there were adequate resources available to deal with the problem. Winter storms are becoming more common in the southern states and it would behoove them to have both a plan and the necessary supplies to treat their roadways and fix downed power lines. Utilities providers in a state that size should be required to have enough manpower available to deal with widespread outages due to winter storms, hurricanes, etc. People are criticizing Texas because the state government would rather hope that experiencing actual winter is just a one-time aberration instead of spending the money to make sure that they can deal with it properly ...


Every time there's a hurricane along the east coast tens of thousands are without power for weeks, why aren't you criticizing those states for not having plans in place?

As I said before, Farkers just love to bash Texas every chance they get. I get it, there's some farked up people running this state, feel free to bash them all you want over in the politics tab, but losing power after a severe storm is hardly an issue unique to Texas. Give it a rest already.
 
psychosis_inducing
2023-02-07 3:02:50 AM  

ReapTheChaos: SomeFarkinFarmgirl: ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.

Those in charge in Texas knew that having a major ice storm was imminent. They should have made sure that there were adequate resources available to deal with the problem. Winter storms are becoming more common in the southern states and it would behoove them to have both a plan and the necessary supplies to treat their roadways and fix downed power lines. Utilities providers in a state that size should be required to have enough manpower available to deal with widespread outages due to winter storms, hurricanes, etc. People are criticizing Texas because the state government would rather hope that experiencing actual winter is just a one-time aberration instead of spending the money to make sure that they can deal with it properly ...

Every time there's a hurricane along the east coast tens of thousands are without power for weeks, why aren't you criticizing those states for not having plans in place?

As I said before, Farkers just love to bash Texas every chance they get. I get it, there's some farked up people running this state, feel free to bash them all you want over in the politics tab, but losing power after a severe storm is hardly an issue unique to Texas. Give it a rest already.


Whatabout hurricanes? Texas is great!

(You forgot to say whatabout California.)
 
NutWrench
2023-02-07 3:04:48 AM  
Yeah but think of all the money those utilities saved by not having to do basic, preventative maintenance, trimming back trees, etc so that an ice storm wouldn't wipe out so much of their power grid. They got to keep as much profit as humanly possible and THAT'S the IMPORTANT thing.

/s
 
psychosis_inducing
2023-02-07 3:06:28 AM  
Texans love to brag about their shiatty weather. You'd think they'd plan for it.

"Pray that winter doesn't come this year" is not a plan.
 
Mr. Shabooboo
2023-02-07 3:23:11 AM  

daffy: My son and daughter in law live two hours east of Dallas and their power has been more off then on for days now. I keep telling them to bring their sons to Florida, it's beautiful here, but they keep saying no.


That's like trading a shat sandwich for a giant douching....
 
Gordon Bennett [TotalFark] [OhFark]
2023-02-07 3:29:10 AM  

FatherChaos: Didn't we just have a story about Texas having a huge tax surplus this year?

I guess it all went to hookers and blow instead of, you know, making sure their power grid wouldn't catastrophically fail. Again.


It's reserved for dumping shipping containers along the border with Mexico and human trafficking asylum seekers to cities in blue states.
 
khatores
2023-02-07 3:41:34 AM  

ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.


Fark user imageView Full Size
 
mistahtom
2023-02-07 3:49:26 AM  
Texas only has 2 seasons, blackout and mass shootings.
 
psychosis_inducing
2023-02-07 3:50:50 AM  

mistahtom: Texas only has 2 seasons, blackout and mass shootings.


Don't worry, the power grid is totally prepared for summer!
 
mistahtom
2023-02-07 3:51:35 AM  

psychosis_inducing: mistahtom: Texas only has 2 seasons, blackout and mass shootings.

Don't worry, the power grid is totally prepared for summer!


Username definitely checks out
😏
 
powhound
2023-02-07 4:19:06 AM  
When Cessna 172s get a nice coat of ice

Fark user imageView Full Size
 
Mr. Shabooboo
2023-02-07 4:57:07 AM  

powhound: When Cessna 172s get a nice coat of ice

[Fark user image 425x239]


Your twin Beech wants to be at the beach.....
 
erewhon the opinionated
2023-02-07 5:16:49 AM  
Texas. You get what you voted for. Suck it up Princess.
 
GrendelMk1
2023-02-07 5:19:10 AM  

ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.


There's this thing called clearing the right of way. Trim and/or cut down anything that's likely to fall on the lines. It's common practice most places. Then, when a storm rolls through, things don't fall on the lines. It's like some kind of magic.

Speaking of knowing what you're talking about.
 
ViolentEastCoastCity
2023-02-07 5:29:16 AM  

ReapTheChaos: SomeFarkinFarmgirl: ReapTheChaos: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

khatores: snowjack: Huh. It's almost like deregulating everything and choosing to go their own way instead of cooperating with other states makes their system fragile and prone to failure every farking year. Weird.

No, it's better this way with Texas having its own separate power grid. When Texas has a major power problem, the damage is limited and other states are unaffected. Most of the neighboring states have enough crippling problems (such as being Oklahoma) without also picking up Texas' power shortages.

Except this isn't the power grid issue, this is a downed power lines issue. When you get freezing rain, the trees get coated with ice weighing hundreds of pounds, which causes them to break apart and fall onto power lines and transformers. The roads are also covered in ice, causing vehicles to lose control, often hitting utility poles and other equipment.

I get it, Farkers love to bash Texas every chance they get, but you could at least put some effort into knowing what the hell you're talking about when you do it.

Those in charge in Texas knew that having a major ice storm was imminent. They should have made sure that there were adequate resources available to deal with the problem. Winter storms are becoming more common in the southern states and it would behoove them to have both a plan and the necessary supplies to treat their roadways and fix downed power lines. Utilities providers in a state that size should be required to have enough manpower available to deal with widespread outages due to winter storms, hurricanes, etc. People are criticizing Texas because the state government would rather hope that experiencing actual winter is just a one-time aberration instead of spending the money to make sure that they can deal with it properly ...

Every time there's a hurricane along the east coast tens of thousands are without power for weeks, why aren't you criticizing those states for not having plans in place?

As I said before, Farkers just love to bash Texas every chance they get. I get it, there's some farked up people running this state, feel free to bash them all you want over in the politics tab, but losing power after a severe storm is hardly an issue unique to Texas. Give it a rest already.


Cry moar.  I'm from New Jersey, so don't talk to me about ice.  I grew up two blocks from the beach and in twenty years I can only remember the power going off once.  Do you understand the kind of winter weather NJ gets?  Six feet of snow on the ground, ice storms, hurricanes, etc that sh*t never goes out.

Texass can eat dicks.
 
Vhale [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 5:55:50 AM  
I wonder what the percentage of above ground lines is per state. I was surprised that I rarely notice them in Michigan, but in Texas they are all over. Especially give the whole tornado alley thing, its an area that could be fixed.
 
born_yesterday [TotalFark]
2023-02-07 6:06:59 AM  

TorpedoOrca: Hey! This year! That's good, right? I'll totally vote for Greg Abbott again since he totally promised to fix the power grid and then he didn't but then he promised to fix it this year


Who gives a shiat, really? He could promise not to fix it and win. He could promise to break it and win. As long as he (R)s, he wins.
 
Displayed 50 of 83 comments


Oldest | « | 1 | 2 | » | Newest | Show all


View Voting Results: Smartest and Funniest

Redisplay/refresh comments
This thread is closed to new comments.

Continue Farking

Want more stories with less ads? Try

TotalFark

It's what the cool kids are doing.
It also helps us pay the bills.

learn more | sign up
On Twitter

  1. Links are submitted by members of the Fark community.

  2. When community members submit a link, they also write a custom headline for the story.

  3. Other Farkers comment on the links. This is the number of comments. Click here to read them.

  4. Click here to submit a link.