{"id":398,"asset_id":"631","title":"BLACKOUTS IN TEXAS: AN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY OR A NEW NORMAL?","alias":"blackouts-in-texas-an-avoidable-tragedy-or-a-new-normal","introtext":"<div class=\"post-top\">\r\n<div class=\"post-top-right\">\r\n<h2 class=\"post-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/ifapray.org\/blog\/blackouts-in-texas-an-avoidable-tragedy-or-a-new-normal\/\">BLACKOUTS IN TEXAS: AN AVOIDABLE TRAGEDY OR A NEW NORMAL?<\/a><\/h2>\r\n<h5 class=\"post-date\">FEBRUARY 20, 2021 | KAREN HARDIN, IFA CONTRIBUTING WRITER<\/h5>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"prayer\">\r\n<div class=\"quote-line\">&nbsp;<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"text\">Lord God, please help the people of Texas! Protect the vulnerable and provide for sensible and common sense energy policy.<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p>Could the crisis and rolling blackouts Texas faced this week have been avoided? The answer is certainly yes. But the bigger question I am asking is was this avoidable winter crisis about inept leadership or something more sinister?<\/p>\r\n<p>As Texas struggles to recover from the winter storm that left MILLIONS without power, it caused many to ask the question, \u201cHow could this happen?\u201d Texas is the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eia.gov\/state\/?sid=TX\">largest energy-producing and energy-consuming state<\/a>&nbsp;in the nation. So, how did Texas find themselves in an energy crisis during this artic storm?<\/p>\r\n<p>It starts by looking at who is in charge. Did you know Texas has their&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbs7.com\/2021\/02\/17\/texplainer-why-does-texas-have-its-own-power-grid\/\">own grid<\/a>&nbsp;that regulates the electricity for most of the state? There are only three grids for the mainland U.S. These are the Eastern Interconnection, the Western Interconnection \u2014 and Texas.<\/p>\r\n<p>The latter was supposedly created to avoid interference by the federal government. But if it was created to protect Texas, why are many of those in charge of that power grid NOT from Texas and several with no experience in the energy sector?<\/p>\r\n<p>ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) is the non-profit organization in charge of Texas\u2019 energy source and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/energy\/texas-winter-storm-shows-diverse-energy-supply-needed-ex-energy-secretary\">manages power for more than 26 million Texans<\/a>, about 90% of the state\u2019s electric load.<\/p>\r\n<p>This is where it gets rather interesting. ERCOT is comprised of a 16-member board. The chairwoman, Sally Talberg, lives in Michigan and was appointed just two weeks ago. She and the vice chair, Pater Cramton, neither call Texas home and both are called&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/news\/sally-talberg\/\">\u201cunaffiliated directors.\u201d<\/a>&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/ifapray.org\/blog\/blackouts-in-texas-an-avoidable-tragedy-or-a-new-normal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ MORE IFA &gt;&gt;&gt;<\/a><\/p>","fulltext":"","state":1,"catid":"61","created":"2021-02-21 22:38:50","created_by":"873","created_by_alias":"","modified":"2021-02-21 22:44:23","modified_by":"873","checked_out":"873","checked_out_time":"2021-02-21 22:42:30","publish_up":"2021-02-21 22:38:50","publish_down":"0000-00-00 00:00:00","images":"{\"image_intro\":\"\",\"float_intro\":\"\",\"image_intro_alt\":\"\",\"image_intro_caption\":\"\",\"image_fulltext\":\"\",\"float_fulltext\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_alt\":\"\",\"image_fulltext_caption\":\"\"}","urls":"{\"urla\":false,\"urlatext\":\"\",\"targeta\":\"\",\"urlb\":false,\"urlbtext\":\"\",\"targetb\":\"\",\"urlc\":false,\"urlctext\":\"\",\"targetc\":\"\"}","attribs":"{\"article_layout\":\"\",\"show_title\":\"\",\"link_titles\":\"\",\"show_tags\":\"\",\"show_intro\":\"\",\"info_block_position\":\"\",\"info_block_show_title\":\"\",\"show_category\":\"\",\"link_category\":\"\",\"show_parent_category\":\"\",\"link_parent_category\":\"\",\"show_associations\":\"\",\"show_author\":\"\",\"link_author\":\"\",\"show_create_date\":\"\",\"show_modify_date\":\"\",\"show_publish_date\":\"\",\"show_item_navigation\":\"\",\"show_icons\":\"\",\"show_print_icon\":\"\",\"show_email_icon\":\"\",\"show_vote\":\"\",\"show_hits\":\"\",\"show_noauth\":\"\",\"urls_position\":\"\",\"alternative_readmore\":\"\",\"article_page_title\":\"\",\"show_publishing_options\":\"\",\"show_article_options\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_backend\":\"\",\"show_urls_images_frontend\":\"\"}","version":2,"ordering":"0","metakey":"","metadesc":"","access":"1","hits":"0","metadata":"{\"robots\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"rights\":\"\",\"xreference\":\"\"}","featured":"1","language":"*","xreference":"","note":""}