https://www.centredaily.com/news/politics-government/article288412499.html#storylink=mainstage_card
In the UK we're at the point where renewable energy generation exceeds fossil fuels. The pricing is still a bit mad though.
In Scotland we have 30% of the renewable generation vs about 8% of the population/demand and still pay the highest rates in the UK on the National Grid. Though recent projects actually pay out to local communities in the case they don't like the look of wind farms. £5K per MW of rated power per year. It's a decent incentive.
Locational pricing seems to be the way forward. There's been an effective ban on onshore wind in England for the past 10 years or so.
Luckily there's efforts like Ripple Energy where people in England can offset their carbon emissions to an extent.
https://www.livemint.com/news/texas-spot-power-prices-jump-almost-100-fold-on-tight-supply-11715218016874.html
Texas Spot Power Prices Jump Almost 100-Fold on Tight Supply
People generally have no idea that power can jump to $3/KWH (aka $3000/MWH).
The spot prices on the wholesale market fluctuate so much. If this were passed on, people would be installing batteries like mad, which would eventually reduce the problem and thus the value of the batteries. But realistically, I think among the upper 25%, major battery banks are going to become normal in new home builds, especially custom homes.
As the Romans said: private luxury, public squalor. That seems to be working its way through every system in the US.
>> public squalor
Today's case in point: can't make a landline call because all circuits are busy. Apparently AT&T shutdown a major switching center in California (6000 nodes, whatever that means) and now the landline service is spotty and, in our area in the summer, IF you can get a cell signal, the circuits are often too busy to get a call out by cell. Bit by by we are losing phone service by any means.
Didn't they ask the state if they could abandon all copper lines and were denied? If so, it looks like they've found another way to force-march customer attrition.
Yes sir. You are correct.
>Texas electricity prices soared almost 100-fold as a high number of power-plant outages raised concerns of a potential evening shortfall.
So that's why I received an automated e-mail stating I am on track for higher than usual electricity charges, along with a failure to explain why.
What caused your bill to change?
The weather has been similar to this time last year,
and may not have affected your bill.
>automated e-mail stating I am on track for higher than usual electricity charges
Looks like you're going to get another email, Trav
https://fortune.com/2024/05/18/texas-power-prices-1600-percent-heat-wave-record-energy-demand-electric-grid/
Texas power prices soar 1,600% as heat wave to drive record demand for energy | Fortune
>> Texas electricity
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/whataburger-app-power-outage-tracker-houston
QuoteWith CenterPoint not providing a map to help track power outages, Houstonians have discovered the Whataburger app is a suitable alternative! Through the app, users can see which locations are open and closed. Since Whataburger is open 24 hours, the locations popping up in gray mean they are closed, so the power must be out.
From a 2011 thread here:
FEMA: The Waffle House Index
If you want to assess hurricane or earthquake damage, you can send out inspectors, pore over aerial photographs, and monitor emergency communications. Or you can visit the local Waffle House.
The restaurants are one quick way W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, figures out the severity of a natural disaster. Using what's come to be known as the "Waffle House index," he checks to see if the restaurant is open in any given area.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/new-economy/2011/0901/Waffle-House-index-How-breakfast-signals-storm-damage