This popped into my email box today:
I don't wish ill on other Americans, but oh this is rich. Oh let me count the ways.
Enron was headquartered in Houston Texas. It was the darling of the energy industry, a pioneer of electrical service as a tradeable commodity, a paragon of corporate virtue, a feather in the cap of Texas' industrial and energy might. Company of the decade with solid political connections (Ken Lay was W's "Buddy Boy") and an example of the wonders that can happen when you deregulate a marketplace.
And then they met California, which was hot on the deregulation bandwagon. And this happened:
You remember all the rolling blackouts, the fear, anger and uncertainty. It practically cost Gray Davis his job and later, Enron executives went to prison (in part) because of their criminal actions in California.
So I couldn't help but have a wry little smile cross my face as I read the emergency notice to all Texans today that they had to immediately reduce electricity consumption or face rolling blackouts.
Shadenfreude.
Incidentally, it's interesting how much energy Texas consumes on a hot day. This article says they have a capacity of 73 gigawatts (assuming no maintenance periods) and are peaking at 68 gigawatts currently. California, which has a much larger population, has a capacity of about 45 gigawatts. Does this mean per capita energy use in Texas is much higher than in California?
Schadenfreude, yall
Notice to all Texans,
ERCOT is implementing the Energy Emergency Alert Level 2B to maintain frequency at 60 Hertz. Emergency interruptible loads are being deployed. While rotating outages are not in place at this time, there is a high probability that they may be implemented. ERCOT is asking the media to notify the public to reduce electricity usage to lessen the need for rotating outages. Consumers should be directed to contact their utility company regarding questions about rotating outage implementation plans.
I don't wish ill on other Americans, but oh this is rich. Oh let me count the ways.
Enron was headquartered in Houston Texas. It was the darling of the energy industry, a pioneer of electrical service as a tradeable commodity, a paragon of corporate virtue, a feather in the cap of Texas' industrial and energy might. Company of the decade with solid political connections (Ken Lay was W's "Buddy Boy") and an example of the wonders that can happen when you deregulate a marketplace.
And then they met California, which was hot on the deregulation bandwagon. And this happened:
An embedded YouTube video appeared here in the original post. View the original — embeds are preserved as links in this archive.
You remember all the rolling blackouts, the fear, anger and uncertainty. It practically cost Gray Davis his job and later, Enron executives went to prison (in part) because of their criminal actions in California.
So I couldn't help but have a wry little smile cross my face as I read the emergency notice to all Texans today that they had to immediately reduce electricity consumption or face rolling blackouts.
Shadenfreude.
Incidentally, it's interesting how much energy Texas consumes on a hot day. This article says they have a capacity of 73 gigawatts (assuming no maintenance periods) and are peaking at 68 gigawatts currently. California, which has a much larger population, has a capacity of about 45 gigawatts. Does this mean per capita energy use in Texas is much higher than in California?