this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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Texas power prices briefly soar 1,600% as a spring heat wave is expected to drive record demand for energy (fortune.com)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/technology
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[–] [email protected] 103 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I live in Texas and have already received 2 notices this spring to conserve electricity. It has barely hit 90, and they aren't able to keep up with demand. They get the same weather reports we have access to, up to 14-21 days, yet they can't/won't anticipate demand?

[–] chiliedogg 77 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's almost like they have a financial incentive to pull this shit.

In 2000/2001 this same shit was being done in California, leading to rolling blackouts and record-high energy prices. One company was buying all the plants and shutting them down for "maintenance" specifically to increase energy prices.

There were going to be congressional hearings over it in early 2022, but that company was Enron, and at the end of 2001 they collapsed due to other bullshit they were pulling.

[–] randon31415 25 points 7 months ago (2 children)

|early 2022

Bit late, if you ask me.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

Whoopsie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

worse in CA was PG&e causing devastating forest fires because they refused to shut of the power and had insufficient line maintenance

[–] [email protected] 53 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Fun fact, in case you weren't aware; Texas pays bitcoin mining companies to shut off their rigs during peak demand.

Miners love this; in effect they can just threaten to mine bitcoin and get paid as much as they would have made actually mining bitcoin, but without the wear and tear on their expensive hardware. It's a legalized extortion racket being enacted on the public purse.

Apologies if I just gave you even more reason to be angry.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

didn't mining costs just double? gl with that

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Effectively, yes. But that just makes extorting the government even more effective in comparison. Better to just get paid not to mine.