My absolute favorite part of Capitalism is how often profitability gets maximized by NOT providing the goods/services people pay for (with no repercussions)
if this were happening in a socialist country the US media would be screaming about how it indicates a systemic failure
as long as covert sniper teams aren't shooting out your power generation facilities
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Sniper-Rifle-Took-Out-Venezuelas-Hydroelectric-Plant-Maduro-20190327-0036.html
Well isn't that an interesting coincidence. That story just reminded me of this from a few years ago:
"The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables.
"Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power to Silicon Valley. A minute before a police car arrived, the shooters disappeared into the night.
"To avoid a blackout, electric-grid officials rerouted power around the site and asked power plants in Silicon Valley to produce more electricity. But it took utility workers 27 days to make repairs and bring the substation back to life."
I guess they were getting some hands on training back then.
Today I learned in Texas there's a volatile free market for electricity that pays generators only for actually provided power and not for excess capacity. America never fails to amaze me.
How could the energy grid be managed and distributed differently if the means of producing the energy were in the hands of the people?
Could we just potentially flip the "free-energy" switch and just run it at a "loss" by having everyone pay for it collectively?
Or are natural disasters like these, just beyond the abilities of a planned economy to work around?
Comrade, we live in a planned economy. Profiteers planned around this disaster to their benefit by restricting availability to spike prices on their investments from $25 to $7,500. Our economy is planned for profit at the expense of proletariat lives.
A communist planned economy would easily handle these disasters by having resources stored and prepared.
I completely agree
Not trying to be an ass in the least, but more asking out of my own ignorance. Is it actually feasible to store the +74,820MW worth of energy that the article states would be needed to prevent a blackout situation?
Or would this more probably be like a giant nationwide energy grid situation where other parts of the nation could help with the dip in production even?
Its not that they need an additional 75k MW boxed up and ready to go, that's what we consumed two summers ago. We handled that just fine.
But the problem isn't really the specific amount we are consuming as individuals. Sure, there can be better education for shit like turning lights off- but currently homes in Texas require more energy to heat/cool because of poor insulation. Landlords have no interest in improving insulation because heating costs fall onto their tenants. Private contractors, which do ALL the construction in Texas, have little incentive to properly insulate buildings.
What we have is what we see time and time again in America: Private interests have accrued vast sums of infrastructure-debt and inefficiencies.
I see your point, but good insulation is also more energy efficient if you're keeping your house cool in a hot climate.
America doesn't exactly have a shortage of laborer. You present these issues like the effects of climate change are sudden and new, but we've seen this coming for over 50 years. You know damn well why America hasn't prepared for climate collapse.
Texas literally has its own power grid to accord triggering the commerce clause and FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVERREACH so you don't even need communism to fix this problem, you just need Texas to be run by less stupid people
Yup I’ve been trying to get the temp somewhat warm in the house any way i can and hope my insulation will be enough if the power goes out again tonight
Cold Hudson bay + Warm Gulf of Mexico + mountains on both sides is a recipe for crazy weather in the american middle
Power’s now out for the second time where I live. First time it went out sometime around 1-2 am. Also I just checked the temperature and jfc, it’s -14 C (7 F) outside.
Edit: Power came back on, and now it’s back off. We love to see it don’t we folks.
Greg Abbott, other dipshit Texans, and blue state expats: At least we aren't California.
Coworker actually said this to me then complained about his (late)dad having had to pay taxes on a $200,000 salary. This the day before our job told us we can't come into work because its too cold.
That is some late 80s Eastern European collapsing soviet shit... Like for real, I remember it, I was there, playing some dumb board games with my mom in candle light while my dad was getting wasted on cheap watered down beer.
“Why don’t they have solar panels?”
March me to the guillotine, daddy!
If only there was a way to plan.. maybe centrally? To adequately move supplies, personnel, and equipment to where they are needed.
Power went out at 2 and never came back on. Luckily I was able to bum a ride to my parents house. Not sure how I'm gonna get home.
