The Two Hours That Nearly Destroyed Texas’s Electric Grid

by kjwon 2/20/2021, 4:20 PMwith 66 comments

by morschon 2/20/2021, 6:52 PM

Below 59 and the state’s electrical system would face cascading blackouts that would take weeks or months to restore.

Is the tolerance really this small? Afaict, in Germany this point is only reached at a -2.5 Hz deviation from the regular 50 Hz. At the -1 Hz point noted in the article, we start dropping large commercial loads from the grid. IANAEE.

by Havocon 2/20/2021, 5:10 PM

This does seem to demonstrate some limits of the market approach to critical infrastructure.

by ipsocannibalon 2/20/2021, 9:03 PM

Related article with a good discussion on capacity versus delivery pricing in the Texas energy market.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26207591

by neonateon 2/21/2021, 4:55 AM

https://archive.is/fSOMH