Not-so-great state of Texas

Over the years there have been numerous letters written by our local extreme far right ultra-rightwing conservatives praising the state of Texas.

To listen to them, Texas is the garden spot of the United States and paradise realized.

These people love deregulation and free markets. They praise it. To them it is the life blood of being a member of the Grand Old

Party.

Last week when Mother Nature turned Texas into a frozen tundra of sorts, came massive electrical power failures because their electrical power grid failed.

Most experts agree this was bound to happen since it had already happened about 10 years ago during another similar cold spell. Deregulation is not always a good thing.

Texas politicians saw electricity deregulation as a better future in the 1990s. Prior to deregulation the utilities had been regulated by the Texas Legislature. In the 1920s Texas lawmakers put on their 10 gallon hats and created a single system for generating and transmitting power. Texans did not want their power grid to be under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

To compound the problem, Texas does not winterize their wind turbines and other generating infrastructure from extreme weather conditions. My guess is they might think about it now.

Another issue with the deregulation is thousands of Texans are now receiving catastrophic electric bills. In Texas you can pick and choose who you buy your electrical power from. You can sign up for wholesale cheap electrical rates. However, the downside is when there is a shortage of electricity your bill goes through the roof and you could receive an invoice for thousands of dollars.

As we all know Texans like most Americans do not save enough for a rainy day or should I say in this case a snowy frozen day.

George Jung Antelope Acres