In light of the global shift towards renewable energy sources, it is also critical to fairly assess the heavily-discussed alleged culpability of renewable energy sources for the grid failure in Texas. In short, the root causes of the grid failure in Texas are threefold: the false promise of energy independence from federal regulation, the short-sighted deregulation of the energy market and the unwillingness to learn from similar incidents in the past. How did the Texas power system fold so quickly and easily? Texas is, after all, the second most populous state in the US and home to the city of Houston, whose oil and gas production has earned it the epithet “the energy capital of the world.” Additionally, electricity supply in Texas is fairly diversified, with solar and wind sources accounting for one-fifth of the electricity produced in 2019. To date, it is estimated that Texas alone suffered a staggering $ 129 billion in economic losses due to these power outages. There was a knock-on effect of some 12 million Texans seeing their water supply disrupted as the water froze in the plumbing systems of their frigid homes and often burst the pipes. Dozens of people died during and after the blackouts, many of hypothermia or due to carbon monoxide poisoning as increasingly desperate residents resorted to using their grills and stoves to heat up their freezing homes. At the peak of the energy crisis, some 4.5 million Texans (nearly a sixth of the state’s total population, with marginalized communities hit disproportionately hard ) were left without electricity for days in temperatures far below freezing in a state where residents have little experience with prolonged sub-zero temperatures. This relief effort was largely insufficient, however, and the results were catastrophic. As power-generating capacity in Texas was unable to meet this sudden surge in demand (for reasons described below), grid operators there resorted to so-called “rolling blackouts”, unplugging entire neighborhoods across the state from the electric grid to ease the pressure on the overall system.
When the winter storms hit, Texans all over the state cranked up their heaters to keep their houses warm and businesses running. Our weather can be unpredictable, so make sure to sign up for our Outage Alert service and always have an emergency kit on hand. This means you don’t have to live next to the ocean for you to see/experience the effects the salt can have on the electricity system.Īlways ensure you are prepared for an outage. ĭepending on wind speeds this salty air can be carried over long distances. If your power is out for longer than a few minutes, please report using our outage line: 1-80 or our online outage form. Sometimes salt spray contamination can result in longer outages (a period of hours or even days) until crews can replace the affected equipment or weather conditions improve. There is no need to report these power interruptions. These short circuits may cause momentary power outages (between 2 to 15 seconds). These are heard as very loud bursts of noise and seen as electrical arcing flashes – but for very short periods of time – a split second. Occasionally, salt contamination on insulators can become severe enough to cause short circuits to develop.
They will disappear when the sparking either burns away the salt deposits or rain/snow washes it away. This sparking may last for hours or even days, depending on the weather. These sparks of electricity are nothing to fear or be concerned about.
This can be heard as a faint buzzing sound, and when it’s dark out, you may even see intermittent sparks that appear to jump along the surface of the insulator. When this happens they start to break down causing very small amounts of electricity to flow over the surface of the insulator. When enough salt builds up the insulating capability of power line insulators can become compromised. When strong winds blow over the ocean, the wind can pick up salt from the sea – this is called salt contaminated moisture or salt spray.Īs it is blown around by the wind, salt will deposit on every surface it encounters such as trees, vehicles, buildings, and most critical for electrical utilities, power line insulators.