Why does Texas have its own power grid?

“In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Federal Power Act, which charged the Federal Power Commission with overseeing interstate electricity sales. By not crossing state lines, Texas utilities avoided being subjected to federal rules.”

That’s pretty much all it says.

About a year ago I was driving through Nebraska and got caught in a blizzard. I had never even seen snow before. I was on a back road in the middle of nowhere with a quarter tank. If there hadn’t been a whiteout, it would have been flatness as far as the eye could see. The wind was sucking the heat out of the car so quickly that it was only 70F with the heat on full blast recirculating. Called 911 and they told me they can’t get anyone to me, good luck. Most awkward goodbye of my life. The nearest town was 20 miles away on a road made out of ice with ditches on either side. I accepted death and just kept creeping forward. Was saved by a farmer and had a panic attack the next morning long after the danger had passed...

I often wondered how people can go their whole lives not knowing how to deal with weather that is so common. Even in Sweden the military had to create a training program for Swedes that forgot how to stay safe in cold weather without access to heated buildings. Even the Swedes don’t know how to do it because they’re only cold for 5 minutes between buildings. If the polar vortex decided to descend like this onto California or Texas in a serious way, not a wimpy 0F but -30F, thousands would perish. And the crazy thing is that surviving those temps is trivial, you just need some key knowledge and equipment.