While a large percentage of Austin has been without power for days, many people noticed that downtown was lit up bright as ever. While citizens of Austin were asked to conserve energy many pointed to the bright lights coming from all the empty office buildings in downtown Austin. Is this simply another case of “rules for thee and not for me” driven home recently by Mayor Steve Adler’s vacation to Cabo while telling Austinites to stay home? The excuses are many as usual, but this time they are falling on cold deaf ears. There comes a point where the politicians who repeatedly keep getting caught pulling the antics are not the problem. How many times do Austin citizens need to watch the same act repeat itself to figure out that until a change in government is made, we are going to continue to see the same results from the Austin progressive stronghold?
All the blame right now is aimed at ERCOT with Greg Abbott issuing statement that they have lots of questions to answer.
Here is more info about ERCOT
Greg Abbott has already said that ERCOT has provided zero answers to him and that he thinks their leadership should resign. While most of Austin is furious and wants answers, the important thing now is to get the power restored as soon as possible. There will be plenty of time for scrutiny, pointing fingers, and excuses.
Here is a slice of what people are saying on Twitter.
In the last 60+ hours I have had 3 hours of electricity. None of my friends and family have power. And more freezing rain tonight. Meanwhile, people are posting pics of fully lit office buildings in downtown Austin, and empty amusement parks with power on. Priorities!
I’m a UNION pipefitter in Chicagoland area working on a natural gas powerhouse. Also have worked on other Natural gas powerhouses. We get way colder temperatures here without the problems Texas is having. Regulatory laws may have something to do with that as far as codes. GL,TX
Yes, my power was restored at 11:13 AM, and shut off again at 11:22 AM. And I had my thermostat turned off as instructed to prevent an overload, so my house is still at 44 degrees and falling about one degree every 1.5 hours.
This is a good time to note that the electrical grid in Texas was deregulated, privatized, and removed from interconnected networks to avoid federal regulation and increase profits to a small number of wealthy individuals.
An investigation isn’t going to keep us warm right now, Greg.
Although I applaud this effort, it still reminds me of a saying from my days in the military: “If you need a mishap to admit there is a problem, then you are part of the problem.”
That means 400,000 people lost the power they had. Quit giving handouts to corporations and invest in the infrastructure WE all use.
This is like Canada being prepared for Arizona level heat wave – simply not practical to run systems in this way.. just looking for someone to point the finger at
200,000+ in Austin remain without power while downtown sits exempt from outages. The W Hotel and other non essential buildings should voluntarily shutdown their power tonight in a show of solidarity. Or is that just for raised fists and kneel downs during the summer?
Blame ERCOT all you want Mayor Adler but your a huge problem for this city. Austin Energy is a fiasco and YOUR responsible. Soccer stadium fully lit along w/most empty buildings while our community freezes. Your not a leader because leaders accept responsibility and ACT. You do neither.
Hey got a minute Mayor Adler, you guys spend millions on hotels for the homeless but can’t pay for hotel rooms for first responders who can’t get home after risking their lives working in this weather. Shameful they have decide between spending their own money or risk their lives driving to and from work.
