2002: hey, Texas! We're gonna deregulate the whole power industry, paving the way for more reliable, cheaper electricity!
2021: Hey so we're gonna cut your power during these -13 degree temps we're all enjoying so you don't overload the grid
btw you know who helped pass deregulation in Texas? Fucking Enron!
Yes we're still paying for Enron
Now in Texas you have a CHOICE to buy electricity anywhere you want
Of course all our power plants have frozen and we are currently experiencing power costs that rose by 10,000%, but you're free to decide who you want to pay
In case you don't get my point about Texas, it's this:
Texas power companies are paid only for the electricity they SELL. So they are powerfully financially incentivized to produce exactly as much electricity as they need under normal conditions and no more.
And what happens every heat wave or winter storm? They don't have enough power.
If you have a market where it's run by a publicly owned, regulated utility, they are incentivized by laws and regulations to prepare for disasters and have enough power in reserve to get thru them without outages. I'm not saying it's perfect (it isn't, and they're still not regulated enough), but it's a damn sight better than Texas
This happens all the fuckin time in Texas. Here's a story of the exact same thing happening a decade ago.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ercot-blackouts/regulators-look-at-why-cold-shut-texas-power-plants-idUSTRE7127CM20110203
If you're wondering why cold shuts down power plants it's because "thermal" power plants (whether it uses coal, gas, oil, nuclear, biofuel or solar) use water. They have to draw water into the plant via pipes and use it to cool the generators in machines called condensers.
In the north, power generators find it worth their money to weatherize their plants against freezing. In Texas they don't. Because it isn't cost effective. Because in Texas, energy is a for-profit industry.
@kravietz true, but it's ridiculous to focus on wind turbines when it affects every other form of generation