[sbe-eas] How Texas plans to communicate with you if another winter storm leaves us in the dark

[Sean Donelan]

On Fri, 7 Jan 2022, Adrienne Abbott wrote:
> And just having returned from Texas, from visiting family affected by the
> windmill disaster, power outages are unpredictable but self-announcing
> events. When the power goes out, while officials have a limited time and
> limited capabilities to communicate information to residents, the state
> doesn't need a "better warning plan". The state needs a better plan for
> backup power delivery. There's something wrong with those fields of
> windmills dotted with non-functioning oil pumpjacks.  

Yep. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission published a nice report 
about last year's Texas winter power failures.  Apparenty few people 
read the latest after action report. They also didn't read the previous 
*FOUR* winter storm after action reports about the Texas power grid.  [ 
Yeah, officials say it was "unprecedented." ] The Texas electric grid is 
F'ed up. But that's the way Texas politicians and power companies like it.

The reality was the Texas blackouts weren't unpredictable, unannounced 
events.

There is a decade of reports about the Texas electric grid, sitting unread 
on bookshelves (or more likely sharepoint files).

Ok, that's long term.  What about the short term, during the ice storm?

The Texas Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which controls the "grid" 
in Texas was issuing load-shed warnings for hours before the blackouts, 
requesting people reduce their power usage.  Only problem, the public 
never got those load-shed warnings because (T)ERCOT was pushing them out 
via channels the public doesn't looks at (or even know about). And when I 
say the public, I also include most emergency officials throughout the 
state.

If you got 3 or 4 hour advance notice the power could go out for 4 days in 
the middle of a winter storm with sub-freezing temperatures, would you 
want to know that in advance? Or do you prefer "self-announcing" 
blackouts, without notice?

Sometimes blackouts happen without notice, random lightening strikes. 
Other times, disasters happen quickly, but could warn people downstream 
about that dam breach, volcano, grid overload, toxic clouds.

The FERC reports are fascinating reading, for disaster nerds.