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2021 Texas Power Crisis
In February 2021, the state of Texas suffered a major power crisis, which came about during three severe winter storms sweeping across the United States on February 10–11, 13–17, and 15–20. The storms triggered the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat. More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, some for several days. At least 246 people were killed directly or indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed as a result of the crisis. State officials including Republican governor Greg Abbott initially blamed the outages on frozen wind turbines and solar panels. However, data showed that failure to winterize power sources, like wind turbines and natural gas infrastructure, had caused the grid failure. Texas's power grid has long been separate from the two major national grids to avoid federal oversight, though it is still connected to the other national grids and Mexic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in 2020. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the seat and largest city of Harris County and the principal city of the Greater Houston metropolitan area, which is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States and the second-most populous in Texas after Dallas–Fort Worth. Houston is the southeast anchor of the greater megaregion known as the Texas Triangle. Comprising a land area of , Houston is the ninth-most expansive city in the United States (including consolidated city-counties). It is the largest city in the United States by total area whose government is not consolidated with a county, parish, or borough. Though primarily in Harris County, small portions of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in humanitarian and moral passion and one based in an ethos of scientific analysis". Through the 1980s and 1990s, the magazine incorporated elements of the Third Way and conservatism. In 2014, two years after Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes purchased the magazine, he ousted its editor and attempted to remake its format, operations, and partisan stances, provoking the resignation of the majority of its editors and writers. In early 2016, Hughes announced he was putting the magazine up for sale, indicating the need for "new vision and leadership". The magazine was sold in February 2016 to Win McCormack, under whom the publication has returned to a more progressive stance. A weekly or near-weekly for most of its history, the magazine currently pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2020–21 North American Winter
The 2020–21 North American winter was the most significant winter season to affect North America in several years, and the costliest on record, with a damage total of at least $201.845 billion (2021 USD). The season featured 6 storms ranking on the Regional Snowfall Index scale, with 4 storms ranking as at least a Category 3. Most of the winter's damage and fatalities occurred due to a February 2021 North American cold wave, historic and major cold wave in mid-February. Several other significant events occurred, including a Winter Storm Billy, crippling early-season ice storm in the Southern Plains, a December 15–17, 2020 nor'easter, powerful nor'easter in mid-December, January 31 – February 3, 2021 nor'easter, another major nor'easter in early February, two major and widespread winter storms in mid-February, and March 2021 North American blizzard, a major blizzard in the Rocky Mountains in mid-March. The winter-related events were responsible for at least 358 fatalities, maki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in interstate commerce. FERC also reviews proposals to build interstate natural gas pipelines, natural gas storage projects, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, in addition to licensing non-federal hydropower projects. FERC is composed of five commissioners who are nominated by the U.S. president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. There may be no more than three commissioners of one political party serving on the commission at any given time. Primary duties The responsibilities of FERC include the following: * Regulating the transmission and sale of natural gas for resale in interstate commerce; * Regulating the transmission of oil by pipelines in interstate commerce; * Regulating the transmission and wholesale sales of electricity i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
December 1989 United States Cold Wave
The December 1989 United States cold wave was a series of cold waves into the central and eastern United States from mid-December 1989 through Christmas. On December 21-23, a massive high pressure area pushed many areas into record lows. On the morning of the 22nd, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, experienced . The next morning, the front pushed temperatures in Houston down into the single digits. On the 24th and 25th, Miami experienced freezing temperatures and Key West tied its December low of . The wave extended all the way into Mexico's Lower Rio Grande Valley, resulting in tens of millions of dollars in damage to the agricultural sector. The December cold wave was actually the second of the year, after a February cold wave had extended into Texas. An area of low pressure moving northeast from Florida interacted with the cold front to create the Christmas Coastal Snowstorm on December 22-24, the largest snowstorm ever in the southeast United States. All-time snow records were broken in W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Electric Reliability Corporation
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) is a nonprofit corporation based in Atlanta, Georgia, and formed on March 28, 2006, as the successor to the North American Electric Reliability Council (also known as NERC). The original NERC was formed on June 1, 1968, by the electric utility industry to promote the reliability and adequacy of bulk power transmission in the electric utility systems of North America. NERC's mission states that it is to "ensure the reliability of the North American bulk power system." NERC oversees six regional reliability entities and encompasses all of the interconnected power systems of Canada and the contiguous United States, as well as a portion of the Mexican state of Baja California. NERC's major responsibilities include working with all stakeholders to develop standards for power system operation, monitoring and enforcing compliance with those standards, assessing resource adequacy, and providing educational and training resour ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boil-water Advisory
A boil-water advisory, boil-water notice, boil-water warning, boil-water order, or boil order is a public-health advisory or directive issued by governmental or other health authorities to consumers when a community's drinking water is or could be contaminated by pathogens. Under a boil-water advisory (BWA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that water be brought to a rolling boil for one minute before it is consumed in order to kill protozoa, bacteria, and viruses. At altitudes above , boiling should be extended to 3 minutes, as the lower boiling point at high altitudes requires more time to kill such organisms. BWAs are typically issued when monitoring of water being served to consumers detects '' E. coli'' or other microbiological indicators of sewage contamination. Another reason for a BWA is a failure of distribution system integrity evidenced by a loss of system pressure. While loss of pressure does not necessarily mean the water has been contaminat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard
The 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard was a powerful and historic winter storm that affected large swaths of the United States and Canada from January 31 to February 2, 2011, especially on Groundhog Day. During the initial stages of the storm, some meteorologists predicted that the system would affect over 100 million people in the United States. The storm brought cold air, heavy snowfall, blowing snow, and mixed precipitation on a path from New Mexico and northern Texas to New England and Eastern Canada. The Chicago area saw of snow and blizzard conditions, with winds of over . With such continuous winds, the blizzard continued to the north and affected Eastern and Atlantic Canada. Blizzard conditions affected many other large cities along the storm's path, including Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, El Paso, Las Cruces, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Dayton, Cleveland, New York City, New York's Capital District, and Boston. Many other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electric Reliability Council Of Texas
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Inc. (ERCOT) is an American organization that operates Texas's electrical grid, the Texas Interconnection, which supplies power to more than 25 million Texas customers and represents 90 percent of the state's electric load. ERCOT is the first independent system operator (ISO) in the United States. ERCOT works with the Texas Reliability Entity (TRE), one of eight regional entities within the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) that coordinate to improve reliability of the bulk power grid. As the ISO for the region, ERCOT dispatches power on an electric grid that connects more than 46,500 miles of transmission lines and more than 610 generation units. The United States Energy Information Administration Electric Power Monthly published the following detailed report regarding Texas's Net Generation by Energy Source: Total (All Sectors), 2010-December 2020, (Thousand Megawatthours), Table 1.1, for the Month of December 2020: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deregulation Of The Texas Electricity Market
The Texas electricity market is deregulated, meaning that there is competition in the generation and distribution of electricity. Power generators in the Texas Interconnection, managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, participate in an energy-only electricity market and are compensated only for the electricity they produce. The wholesale generation market was deregulated in 1995 and the distribution market in 1999, with Texas Senate Bill 7. This replaced the prior system in which power was generated and consumed locally by the same utility with one in which retail providers contracted with generators across the state.Dylan BaddourTexas' deregulated electricity market, explained ''Houston Chronicle'' (June 8, 2016). As a result, 85% of Texas power consumers (those served by a company not owned by a municipality or a utility cooperative) could choose their electricity service from a variety of retail electric providers (REPs), including the incumbent utility. The incumb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
North American Power Transmission Grid
The electrical power grid that powers Northern America is not a single grid, but is instead divided into multiple wide area synchronous grids. The Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection are the largest. Three other regions include the Texas Interconnection, the Quebec Interconnection, and the Alaska Interconnection. Each region delivers power at a nominal frequency. The regions are not usually directly connected or synchronized to each other, but there exist some HVDC interconnectors. The Eastern and Western grids are connected with 1.32 GW. History In the United States in the 1920s, utilities formed joint operations to share peak load coverage and backup power. In 1934, with the passage of the Public Utility Holding Company Act (United States), electric utilities were recognized as public goods of importance and were given outlined restrictions and regulatory oversight of their operations. From 1967, the East and West interconnections were directly connected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas Interconnection
The Texas Interconnection is an alternating current (AC) power grid – a wide area synchronous grid – that covers most of the state of Texas. The grid is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The Texas Interconnection is one of the three minor grids in the North American power transmission grid. The other two minor interconnections are the Quebec Interconnection and the Alaska Interconnection. The two major interconnections are the Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection. The Texas Interconnection is maintained as a separate grid for political, rather than technical reasons, but can also draw some power from other grids using DC ties. By not crossing state lines, the synchronous power grid is in most respects not subject to federal (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) regulation. All of the electric utilities in the Texas Interconnection are electrically tied together during normal system conditions and operate at a synchro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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