“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather
Texas Tribune
Jeremy Schwartz, The Texas Tribune And Propublica, And Kiah Collier And Vianna Davila, The Texas Tribune And Propublica
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Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
This article is co-published with ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.
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In January 2014, power plants owned by Texas’ largest electricity producer buckled under frigid temperatures. Its generators failed more than a dozen times in 12 hours, helping to bring the state’s electric grid to the brink of collapse.
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In January 2014, power plants owned by Texas’ largest electricity producer buckled under frigid temperatures. Its generators failed more than a dozen times in 12 hours, helping to bring the state’s electric grid to the brink of collapse.
The incident was the second in three years for North Texas-based Luminant, whose equipment malfunctions during a more severe storm in 2011 resulted in a $750,000 fine from state energy regulators for failing to deliver promised power to the grid.
In the earlier cold snap, the grid was pushed to the limit and rolling blackouts swept the state, spurring an angry Legislature to order a study of what went wrong.
In January 2014, power plants owned by Texas largest electricity producer buckled under frigid temperatures. Its generators failed more than a dozen times in 12 hours, helping to bring the state s electric grid to the brink of collapse.The incident was the second in three years for North Texas-base.
Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers.
This story first appeared at ProPublica and the Texas Tribune. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story…