Join or regulate
Regarding “Official suggesting county leave ERCOT,” (A3, Feb. 23): It is obvious
Texas is not prepared for the extreme weather events that are said to be a hallmark of climate change. The extreme heat in the summer, and the extreme cold that we are experiencing in February, place great demands on our electricity generating infrastructure. We need a balance of types of energy, including thermal sources such as natural gas and renewable sources such as wind and solar.
But we also need to make sure our power grid is available in all types of weather: heat, cold and hurricanes. All of these weather events will continue to be more intense as climate change progresses. We need to promote a resilient infrastructure and to continue to promote renewable energy sources, energy conservation and air pollution controls. And we need to make sure that it is cost effective for power generators to remain available year-round.
Texas needs to either join the Eastern or Western U.S. grids or pass regulations that require ERCOT to winterize the grid. Texas was a failed state last week. Our legislators and governor need to step up to protect Texans.
Charlene Shafer, Cypress After this week it is obvious we live in a developing nation. Oops, I mean state. There was no reliable power source last week unless you provided your own via a generator. We had to boil our water. Broadband was sketchy, as were phones and television. This is the 21st century, is it not? We pay our taxes and expect services.
Who is minding the store? I have lived in places where it is cold for months yet we had heat and water and internet. The
refineries did not shut down.
Is it gross stupidity or incompetence on the part of our leaders? Or could it be profit over people? Will those that profited pay to fix the problem or will we be screwed again? Maybe a little federal regulation wouldn’t hurt especially if the state now wants federal assistance. In the meantime we are stuck paying the bills for all the damage this has caused.
Henrietta Horecky, Friendswood My friend’s precocious 3-year-old has announced she wants to “bonk ERCOT in the face.” Out of the mouths of babes.
Shawna L. Reagin, Houston Gov. Greg Abbott and his Public Utility Commission are surely feeling some pain from the grid disaster. Unfortunately, his first response was nonsensical blame slinging, which was widely mocked. I hope his next try is to exert the leadership that Texas really needs. The shift to non-carbon energy is underway and will only accelerate. Texas has the resources and know-how to be a front-runner in the green energy economy that is inevitably coming. It won’t be quick or easy. But if Abbott has the courage to start now, if he can marshal the necessary efforts in workforce transition and technology innovation, we can get there. Governor, you can’t protect the Texas energy industry from the future. You can only help us all survive it.
Kerry Kimbrough, Austin