https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph Our next Unit is all about POWER! en-us 2021-02-22 04:13:44 UTC 2021-02-22 14:38:35 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet.net/icons/png/26f0.png https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226601341 Due to freezing temperatures, predominately coal and natural gas plants shut down. This drastically decreased ERCOT's power supply at a time when demand was very high. Reports that we were seconds away from cascading blackouts were true given that had the blackouts become cascading and uncontrollable, it would take months for ERCOT to destabilize the grid. The reason for the price hike in people's energy prices is due to the nature of certain retail energy companies. Some people, often those of lower income, sign non-fixed rates with electrical providers. Some background: There are two types of energy prices, wholesale/commercial and retail. Large corporations such as Direct Energy and NRG pay market value for electricity which tend to be lower than the price consumers pay. The downside of this is that the price fluctuates, especially when extreme weather events or market volatility occurs. Because of the extreme weather this past week, the market price of energy increased by over 9000%. And since, some people have signed energy plans where they pay for the market value of energy, they have to pay the large increase in the price of energy.]]> 2021-02-22 14:24:17 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226601341 https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226603579 The temps caused the power plants to freeze and shut down and the supply was lower, but there was a very high demand. That resulted in the prices being astronomical for the individuals who were able to access power. Many Texans also have variable-rate plans, which means that their contracts are not at a fixed price per month. ERCOT allowed the price per kilowatt-hour to rise from the average of around 12 cents per kilowatt-hour to 9 dollars.]]> 2021-02-22 14:24:40 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226603579 https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226611658 Power providers can reap rewards by supplying electricity to Texas customers, but they aren’t required to do it and face no penalties for failing to deliver during a lengthy emergency.]]> 2021-02-22 14:26:04 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226611658 https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226612387 2021-02-22 14:26:10 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226612387 https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226613433 Basically you can either choose to pay a fixed amount monthly or something called wholesale prices which fluctuate with demand. Since the pandemic and especially now the weather, demand for electricity is extremely high leaving those who pay wholesale prices with sky-high energy bills.]]> 2021-02-22 14:26:23 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226613433 https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226629906 There are still many people don't have energy around the state caused by the winter storm. This was the state's worst blackout in decades. Texas wasn't equipped appropriately to receive a storm like this one. All types of energy sources failed. Pipeline freezes impeded the flow of natural gas and crude oil. The outages were concentrated in Texas as the grid was forced to shed load, unable to keep pace with the spike in demand. Power prices went up.]]> 2021-02-22 14:29:06 UTC https://padlet.com/s_lim1/hjm2gdo2btqusaph/wish/1226629906