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<p>[quote user="dakotafred"]</p> <p> </p> <blockquote> <div><img src="/TRCCS/Themes/trc/images/icon-quote.gif" /> <strong>schlimm:</strong></div> <div> <p> </p> <p>"Lasher said Texas will have to rely on conservation to keep the lights on because it takes at least two years to build a power plant, often longer. ERCOT recently expanded some programs that pay large customers to stand ready to shut down when supply runs low."</p> <p>Sure sounds like poor planning, even admitted by the director of planning at ERCOT.  Failures to plan for the future without using appropriate assumptions can lead to a real mess.</p> <div style="clear:both;"></div> <p> </p> </div> </blockquote> <p>I can't help but wonder how many power-plant projects in Texas have been stopped in their tracks by the combination of green protests and the great uncertainty about what is coming down from the EPA. (I expect Sam1 would know.) In the Dakotas, there have been at least two in the last couple of years (Big Stone II and South Heart). [/quote]</p> <p>Conservation has been part of the electric power supply metric in Texas for decades. So too is co-generation, which is a subject unto itself.    </p> <p>The amount of time to bring a new power plant on line or convert an existing power plant ranges widely. A gas turbine can be installed, tested, and coupled to the grid in less than a year.  My company, which is one of numerous generators in Texas, has several mothballed plants that could be brought out of retirement and made ready to generate in an equally short period of time. The issue, as is often the case, is whether we can recapture the high costs of operating an old plant.  </p> <p>The issue regarding the use of older plants, as well as building new ones, is related to vol. It has to do with pricing, which is unique to the Texas system compared to most areas of the United States, but not other areas of the world.  It would require a detailed discussion to explain it.  Like many things, however, unless one trades in the market, he or she will never understand it.  </p> <p>Lasher's statement regarding poor planning is disputed by many people, including my former colleagues who are involved in the planning, development and operation of power plants in Texas. I am in regular contact with them, as in we have lunch once a week. Moreover, the company provides its retirees with regular briefings on the status of the company and the industry in Texas.</p> <p>Most people, especially those who live outside of Texas, with no hands on experience in the electric power industry, relying on a high level newspaper article that only scratches the surface of the issue, don't know what they are talking about. To quote a newspaper article or even a single report as if it is gospel shows a clear lack of understanding of the power industry in Texas. </p> <p>As I pointed out, which was apparently missed, a discussion of the Texas electric power industry is outside of the scope of a trains forum.</p>
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