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Comment by barbacoa | Hacker News Reader

"Republicans failed to ensure that the Texas power grid could withstand a cold snap, so the party’s broadcast arm recycled lies about wind energy to deflect blame on to Democrats."

That is such an intellectually dishonest way to frame temperature ratings discussion of critical infrastructure. The people who oversee and maintain the grid operate independent of government and wouldn't let any partisan elected official touch grid infrastructure with a 10' stick.

The right is blaming wind the left is blaming natural gas, they both are wrong, both failed at similar rates.

Trying to frame this according to ideological narratives just comes off as sleazy.

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> The people who oversee and maintain the grid operate independent of government and wouldn't let any partisan elected official touch grid infrastructure with a 10' stick.

ERCOT is overseen by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which could have the power to mandate that power producers winterize if elected officials passed appropriate legislation (nothing particularly unusual from a legal perspective would be required).

Elected officials absolutely can be blamed for not taking steps to prevent this.

Blaming natural gas for this as a general energy source is as wrong as blaming wind - both are vulnerable but can be protected - but the idea that the state government had nothing to do with it is silly.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Monday called for the resignations of Public Utility Commission Chair DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness, criticizing them for a lack of preparation ahead of the deadly winter storm that led to massive power outages across the state for multiple days.

“Both the PUC Chair and the ERCOT CEO said they were prepared the day before the storm hit in full force, but obviously they were not,” Patrick said in a statement. His statements come after the officials testified for hours late last week in committee hearings as state lawmakers grilled them over the power grid failures.

www.texastribune.org/2021/03/01/dan-patrick-texas-ercot-resign/amp/

>>“Both the PUC Chair and the ERCOT CEO said they were prepared the day before the storm hit in full force, but obviously they were not,” Patrick said in a statement.

The Lt Gov Patrick seems to have a valid point, if true...

TheIntercept has fallen mightily from breaking the story on Snowden to filling political hit pieces.

Pretty telling their own founder was ousted last year.

Agreed on the ideological slants.

People were put in harms way.

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