For years, Texas’s private utilities have gotten away with putting profits over people. Now, in the midst of a climate crisis, millions are without power while those responsible blame everyone but themselves for their criminal negligence. We can’t count on corporations to care for our well-being. That’s why we need public power.
Here’s what you need to know
Private utilities failed us
There’s a lot of misinformation out there. Read about how the system actually failed here.
Deregulation Costs Lives
In Texas, power services vital to our survival were sold off to corporations who don’t prioritize the public interest and aren’t required to.
Fossil fuel powers are lying
Fossil fuel companies lie all the time. So do the crony politicians who profit from them. Read about how they lied to cover their asses here.
Public Power
Our utilities don’t have to be like this. Read about how our utilities are a public good that should be managed democratically and rebuilt sustainably.
Deregulation, Underinvestment, & Neglect
The widespread grid failures in Texas have been linked to the state’s deregulated power system, which is managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The ERCOT grid operates separately from larger regulated grids, and doesn’t provide power generators with the returns needed to invest in maintaining and improving power plants; therefore, it suffered from underinvestment and neglect until it finally and predictably broke.
ERCOT failed to address issues that came to light back in 2011, including but not limited to: “failed or inadequate heat traces, missing or inadequate wind breaks, inadequate insulation and lagging (metal covering for insulation), failure to have or to maintain heating elements and heat lamps in instrument cabinets, failure to train operators and maintenance personnel on winter preparations, lack of fuel switching training and drills, and failure to ensure adequate fuel.” In other words, the grid simply froze.