US heatwave continues to cause public dissatisfaction with Texas's return to "sky high electricity" energy under extreme weather conditions | power grid | weather
Several parts of the United States continue to experience scorching heat, with high temperature warnings issued in the central southern, southeastern, and Gulf Coast regions, with Texas being particularly affected. Due to the continuous heat wave, the demand for electricity has significantly increased, and Texas electricity prices have skyrocketed in recent days.
The Texas Power Stability Board stated that since June, Texas electricity demand has set a record high 10 times. Affected by power supply shortages, the Texas Power Stability Board has significantly increased electricity prices in the northern region of Texas, including Dallas, the third largest city in Texas. From the 23rd to the 24th, the daily electricity price increased by over 260%.
Texans and energy experts have expressed dissatisfaction to the media about the crazy price hikes on the Texas power grid.
Texas resident Laura: I think the Texas power grid can appropriately reduce the electricity bills of energy-saving users. Encouraging measures are always good, so it can help everyone.
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Energy expert Doug Levin: Is the Texas power grid doing well? Not good, of course not. We have other measures to call for energy conservation, but the Texas power grid does not use them. Now that our electricity is oversold and the demand for electricity exceeds the supply, we should ask, "Does anyone want to save electricity in exchange for subsidies?"?
Why Texas repeatedly experiences "electricity shortage" and "sky high electricity prices"
How did Texas, USA, often experience "electricity shortages" and "sky high electricity prices" when facing extreme weather?
This is not the first time Texas has been aggressively raising electricity prices in the face of electricity shortages. In February 2021, Texas experienced a large-scale power outage due to a cold wave, causing power plants and natural gas pipelines to freeze. Millions of users experienced power and water outages for several days, resulting in dozens of deaths. However, many residents received exorbitant electricity bills.
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To investigate the underlying reasons, the 48 states in the United States are roughly divided into three major power grid systems: the Eastern United Grid, the Western United Grid, and the independent Texas power grid. The Texas power grid has almost no interconnection with neighboring state power grids, making it difficult for this energy rich state to "borrow" electricity from other grids during extreme weather conditions.
There are many power companies in Texas, and residents can freely choose which household appliance company to purchase electricity from, with a wide variety of electricity purchase packages. For example, some packages use gradient pricing, and residents usually spend less on electricity. However, once they encounter extreme weather and increase electricity consumption, the electricity bills will be frighteningly high. There are still many Texas power companies whose electricity prices are linked to demand. When residential electricity demand surges, electricity prices skyrocket accordingly, causing power companies, wholesalers, distributors, and end users to repeatedly increase their electricity prices, ultimately leading to "sky high electricity bills.".