It’s cold there and a Texas Mayor has told people they are on their own….
Anger over Texas’ power grid failing in the face of a record winter freeze continued to mount Wednesday as millions of residents in the energy capital of the U.S. remained shivering with no assurances that their electricity and heat — out since Monday in many homes — would return soon or stay on once it finally does.
“I know people are angry and frustrated,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Tuesday. “So am I.”
In all, nearly 3 million customers in Texas still had no power Wednesday after historic snowfall and single-digit temperaturescreated a surge in demand for electricity to warm up homes unaccustomed to such extreme lows, buckling the state’s power grid and causing widespread blackouts. A large swath of Texas was under yet another winter storm warning Wednesday.
Making matters worse: Expectations that the outages would be a shared sacrifice by the state’s 30 million residents quickly gave way to a cold reality, as pockets in some of America’s largest cities, including San Antonio, Dallas and Austin, were left to shoulder the lasting brunt of a catastrophic power failure, and in subfreezing conditions that Texas’ grid operators had known was coming….
Residents turned to a community Facebook group to ask whether the small town planned to open warming shelters, while others wonderedif firefighters could do their job without water. But when Colorado City’s mayor chimed in, it was to deliver a less-than-comforting message: The local government had no responsibility to help out its citizens, and only the tough would survive.
jamesb says
Update on Texas Mayor Boyd….
A mayor in Texas has stepped down from his position after telling residents to stop complaining about the cold after an unexpected winter storm devastated millions in Texas and left them without power.
“No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim, it’s your choice!” Colorado City Mayor Tim Boyd said in a now-deleted Facebook post.
Boyd resigned as mayor due to backlash from the post, Colorado City Manager David Hoover told NBC News….
More…
(Proper)
jamesb says
Update on Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz….
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) says he has “no defense” after his old tweet mocking California power outages have resurfaced as millions of people in the Lone Star state have lost power in their homes due to large winter storms.
In August, the Republican lawmaker took a dig at Democrats when responding to a message from the California governor’s office that urged residents in the state to conserve energy during a heat wave as the state experienced power blackouts.
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“California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity,” Cruz tweeted.
“Biden/Harris/AOC want to make CA’s failed energy policy the standard nationwide. Hope you don’t like air conditioning!” he said at the time.
But now as a massive winter storm has left millions in Texas without power for days following the failure of the Texas’s power grid, Twitter users resurfaced Cruz’s criticism of California, and the tweet went viral.
Cruz responded to the backlash on Tuesday tweeting, “I got no defense. A blizzard strikes Texas & our state shuts down. Not good. Stay safe!”
More…..
jamesb says
Remember how Texas was gonna go its ‘own way’?
CG says
I only lost my power for an hour today and it was an unpleasant experience. Crazy to think what is going on in Texas in regards to their electricity.
Maybe Beto can fix it.
jamesb says
Texas Republicans are running around right now telling people to to STFU and blaming Democrats for their ‘I got mine…Fuck everyone Else’ thing….
Yet?
Democrats can’t get elected to state wide office to change things around?
Whose fault is THAT?
CG says
You would think all the hot air coming from Ted Cruz could provide some power to people.
Scott P says
Cruz was apparently in Cancun. He posted a tribute to a dead bigoted doper while his state froze.
jamesb says
The Texas Governor now is blaming Democrats efforts to leave fossil fuels as something that would be bad for Texas , one of the oil/gas states….
….
Gov. Greg Abbott (R) appeared on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show to suggest that the crisis offered the country an important lesson: Democratic leadership is bad.
“This shows how the Green New Deal would be a deadly deal for the United States of America,” Abbott said Tuesday, offering an obviously polished turn of phrase focused on a Democratic proposal for redirecting the economy away from greenhouse-gas-emitting energy sources. About a quarter of the state’s electricity generation in 2020 came from wind and solar, according to data from the unfortunately-named Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT….
More…
CG says
This weather has been beyond brutal in regards to cold and snow. It’s just been absolutely unrelenting this month. But because of the pandemic and working from home, I really do not have to leave to go anywhere, at least during the workweek.
jamesb says
Dan Rather
@DanRather
Apparently America can put a man on the moon but Texas can’t keep the lights on. Houston, we have a problem.
jamesb says
Texas IS in for a LOT of abuse….
jamesb says
TheRecreateUSAProject
@LAMPaquette
Replying to
@DanRather
They brought it on themselves. I think the biggest contributor to how they got to where they are today are the gerrymandered GOP districts. Texas would really be blue or a very deep purple had Republicans not done what they’ve done over the years. It’s capitalism at its finest.
Democratic Socialist Dave says
(1) Gov. Abbott had to concede that coal and oil (and I presume natural-gas) powered generators also failed due to pipe freezes, etc.
(2) I wonder how many Texas, Oklahoma and Alaska car bumpers still read “LET THEM FREEZE IN THE DARK !!”
Scott P says
Rick Perry said Texans would go another 3 days without power rather than be attached to a federal grid like every other state.
Gee I wonder if Perry has power at his house.
Like a good ole Confederate. Forcing others to fight for your “states rights”