Responsibility theirs

In his Voices letter, Mr. David Landry correctly points out that about a quarter of Texas’ electricity is generated by wind and solar power. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration website, the percentage of “non-hydroelectric renewable” electric generation in Texas was 25.9 percent of the total in November 2020 (8,913 out of 34,411 in thousands of megawatts/h, compared to 15,425 for natural gas). However, Mr. Landry’s letter seems to imply that the loss of that percentage was responsible for the suffering of so many Texans, including several of my relatives. The facts belie that belief.

According to the figures of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the average daily wind power generation was between 4,415 and 8,087 megawatts during the polar vortex storm, compared to their predicted estimate of 7,070 megawatts (NBC News, Feb. 21). The same NBC website quotes about a 30,000-megawatt shortfall in combined natural gas, coal, and nuclear power.

I understand that it is more satisfying for conservatives to blame outside actors such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Texans’ suffering. The real responsibility for the problem, as explained in Saturday’s opinion columns of Paul Krugman and Ed Hirs, lies with Texas government, such as Gov. Greg Abbott and his administration’s cozy relationship with the fossil fuel industry.

SARKIS NAZARIAN

Little Rock