There is quite a bit of elitism when programmers talk about real-life events but admittedly less here on HN than in many other forums.
Is it complicated? Of course. But evidence is pretty damning in this event.
Just because something is complex, it doesn't mean there is no one with the required expertise. Texas chose Ayn Rand levels of deregulation with its energy market, and it will keep struggling with black swan events since those are the types which the private industry tends to chronically underinvest for, since they are the easiest to cut and turn into profit.
I am sure running a power grid with thousands of producers and millions of consumers is incredibly complex. Did you know every wind turbine and generator is spinning exactly in sync across the whole grid. I am amazed that it works.
What obviously does not work is the libertarian fantasy of live market pricing for turning generators on and off. What are the chances of rolling blackouts on Monday as oil cracking plants come online to take advantage of free power?
So what do you recommend? Mandatory lights/heaters/AC on/off times, so the power produced is actually used, and the power needed is actually produced?
The british have the problem that during a football game half-time, a bunch of people start their tea kettles at the same time, and there is a relatively huge spike in electricity usage... this means, that the electricity providers have to plan for this and import electricity and/or shut down other cunsumers for those 15 minutes. Now imagine an unplanned half-time, without the time to prepare, and a magnitude higher changes, that happen suddenly (eg, three/ice brings down cables)... there's no way to predict everything and deal with every problem.
What variable pricing does is, that it gives incentive to consumers to use electricity when it's cheaper and not use it when it's more expensive. For homes that means washing clothes in the evenings and on sundays (cheper electricity here then) and not during peak usage hours, and for industry that means shutting down the highest consumers when there is not enough power available, and having them use up extra power when needed.
My understanding is Texas doesn't even have connections to other grids?
Historically the UK had "economy 7" usage, where domestic electricity was cheaper at night. It's not convenient, it stems back from the end of the socialist era of the 70s where individuals took a backseat to the good of society. Most users only use it to boil a hot-water tank and 'night storage' heaters.
It's a shoddy solution for a problem that shouldn't exist in an advanced economy.