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Old 02-22-2021, 09:40 AM   #14709
GeorgiaMa'am
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Default Texas

The situation in Texas with the electricity is on my mind right now. Apparently, almost all of Texas has its own power grid which is not connected to either the Eastern or Western U.S. power grid. This is why so many Texans were without power during the storm last week.

Also, it seems that one of the electric plans that's available to Texans is a variable rate plan. This allows their bills to be low - most of the time. But in a situation like last week where demand far outstripped availability, the rates went sky high - I have heard two examples so far, one family with a bill over $10,000, and another with a bill over $5,000. Also, the ranchers racked up huge bills because they were trying to keep all of their farm animals warm and alive. Some of these ranchers are family businesses, who have all of their money tied up in their livestock - if the livestock dies, the ranchers go bankrupt and could even lose their homes.

Their state legislature is working now to do something; like for instance, the electric utility has been prevented from sending out any more bills for the moment, and they can't disconnect people's electricity. But I suspect the Texas government is spending a lot of time playing the blame game, and it will all be tied up in politics. In the meantime, the electric bills keep ticking their way upward.

I haven't heard any statistics or news stories about how many people died or how much livestock died during the storm, but surely there must have been some. I'm sure the homeless people were hit hard. Also, I know people were melting ice and snow to get water; but in Georgia, whenever it snows, we have always been warned not to drink or eat the snow. It's full of pollution from the upper atmosphere, and can be harmful. I wonder what the repercussions of millions of people drinking this stuff will be for years to come?

I know several of our own BFPers live in Texas. I hope they are all doing well; my heart goes out to them.
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Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling . . .
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