Michael Giberson The new U.S. gas triumphalists say the gas resource supply picture has changed, shale gas has saved us from importing lots of expensive LNG, we’ve got tons and tons of gas now and for years to come, and public policy ideas based on the idea of diminishing supplies of ever more costly gas …
Can We Count on Cheap Natural Gas for Decades to Come? Read More »
Michael Giberson We know that several Texas generators were unprepared for the possibility of severe cold on February 2, and now comes word that at least one retail electric provider was similarly unprepared for the possibility of price increases. ERCOT real-time power prices jumped to about $3000/MWh for most of the emergency period that morning. …
Good News and Bad News from Price-spike Induced Failure of Retail Power Company in Texas Read More »
Michael Giberson A collection of news and commentary on the February 2 rolling blackouts on the ERCOT grid in Texas. KVUE: After blackouts, PUC member seeks authority to fire ERCOT CEO WFAA: Public Utility Commission grills ERCOT top exec on rolling blackouts Associated Press: Railroad Commission questions industry performance WFAA: Quest for cheap fuel led …
Roundup of News and Commentary on the Texas Rolling Blackouts Read More »
Michael Giberson Last week the sharply colder temperatures wreaked havoc on many power generators in Texas, leading to emergency conditions and rolling blackouts on the ERCOT power system. In my preliminary reaction to the developments, I said: No doubt coal and gas-fueled generators across the state are reexamining their readiness for extreme coal weather. I …
More Cold for Texas and a Test of My Conjecture on Preparedness Read More »
Michael Giberson During part of the electric power emergency in the ERCOT region of Texas last week, the ERCOT system imported power from Mexico to reduce the extent of the blackouts needed to keep the ERCOT grid operating. The interconnections between ERCOT/Texas and Mexico are relatively recent. The summary of the March 2009 meeting of …
Michael Giberson The new Jan./Feb. 2011 issue of the Electricity Journal is now available, and it contains the usual range of interesting things to consider. Take, for instance, the article “Rede?ning Renewable Portfolio Standards: The Value of Installed Renewable Capacity.” The article observes, reasonably so, that some sources of renewable power can dependably generate power …
Michael Giberson Among the complications caused by the cold weather last week, short supply of natural gas throughout much of the southwest United States. Reports indicate some gas wells were freezing up and loss of electric power to gas production systems, but more of the problem was loss of power to natural gas pipelines. And, …
The Natural Gas That Didn’t Come in from the Cold Read More »
Michael Giberson In other commentary on ERCOT’s rolling blackouts: “Some Companies Made Millions Off the Texas Blackouts.” While Texans suffered rolling blackouts yesterday, some power generators were enjoying windfall profits. Starting around 5 a.m., prices in the wholesale market surged to the market cap, $3,000 per megawatt-hour, and stayed there, off and on, until around …
Texas Observer: Some Companies Made Millions Off the Texas Blackouts Read More »
Michael Giberson [Note: This item was originally posted at MasterResource as: “Texas Power Outages: A Preliminary Analysis (Cold snap brings failure–isolated ERCOT an issue)“] Wednesday morning, ERCOT, the power grid operator for much of Texas, called upon local distribution companies to cut power to blocks of consumers on a rotating basis. The rolling outages were a …
Cold Snap Brings Rolling Power Outages to Texas; is Ercot Policy of Isolation at Fault? Read More »
Michael Giberson Among the casualties of yesterday’s rolling blackouts in the ERCOT power system was a Texas A&M University conference dedicated to helping solve global energy challenges. Via the Texas A&M News and Information Service: Texas A&M System Gearing Up To Help Solve Global Energy Challenges COLLEGE STATION, Feb. 3, 2011—The Texas A&M University System …
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