Don't supply power — let blackouts reign — and then charge your customers thousands of dollars?

19 February 2021

In America, from a Fat Cat's perspective . . .

. . . unlimited greed and the complete lack of preparation for predictable events makes sense:

Our nationally shared COVID-19 fiasco, for example.

Or California and Texas's ongoing inabilities to keep "the power" on — without either burning the place down or letting everyone freeze in the dark.

Pertinently

When I arrived back in California on military-related assignment in mid-2019 — for the second time in two decades— I watched in some surprise as the Golden State let itself burn down. While the supposed People's power grid was (repeatedly) turned off — as a fire prevention measure.

Sure, that makes sense.

To a gullible moron, maybe.

Now, I'm watching Texas . . .

. . . the state that I most recently came from — and the one that likes to brag how much better than California it is — freezing in the dark.

This is because Texas government — like California's — is (and has been) too incompetent to think that efficiently providing the public with societally necessary services is — and should be — a minimal requirement.

Consider, in demonstration, the following news

From Yahoo:

As a historic winter storm raged across Texas over the weekend, Akilah Scott-Amos received an alarming message from her power company:

Please switch services because “prices are about to explode.”

The 43-year-old owner of an organic skincare and apothecary shop was initially confused by the message from Griddy, which sells wholesale power for a monthly membership, but she began to look for other providers.

Then she checked her bill.

“I paid $450 for one day. I was in shock,” Scott-Amos told The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

“It made no sense because we have a gas heater, a gas fireplace, and we have been keeping the temperature around the house at 65 degrees. With that amount of money, and the labeled amount of usage Griddy said was used—we would have to be lighting up the whole neighborhood.”

The nightmare only got worse on Monday, when she realized her bill had increased by another $2,500. In comparison, Scott-Amos paid $33.93 last year for the entire month of February.

No hope in sight

Again, according to Yahoo — with my comment in bracketed italics:

Power grid operators in Texas say they can’t predict when the outages might end, according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, the agency that oversees the grid.

The power grid in Texas is unique in that it does not cross state lines and therefore is not under the oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In the early 2000s, Republican leaders in the state pushed to deregulate the state's power market and allow power companies to determine when and how to build and maintain power plants. Now this setup and its flaws are coming back to haunt the state.

In an effort to avoid a total blackout, ERCOT is instructing utility companies to cut power to customers.

Meanwhile, local and federal leaders have left many Texans confused and frustrated with their reluctance to take responsibility for the crisis.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, blamed ERCOT on Tuesday, saying the utility "has been anything but reliable over the past 48 hours.”

He then appeared on cable news that evening to argue that the fiasco is due to green energy, specifically frozen wind turbines.

[Abbott, of course, is "full of shit" — as the colloquial expression goes.

Northern American states and northern Europe both manage to keep wind turbines running properly, under much colder temperatures — and for much longer periods than those that Texas is experiencing.

The difference?

An easily observable lack of imbecility — in applied technological principle and foresighted preparedness — occurring in the northern geographic tier.]

Democratic-run California is no better

For at least the last two years, dandy Governor Gavin Newsom has been prancing around making similarly other-blaming excuses for State government's lack of public-service performance, where fires and blackouts are concerned.

Recall the common wisdom

An Adam Henry remains an Adam Henry, no matter his or her camouflage.

So — krikey!

The US thinks that it is going to compete with competently run China in the Twenty-First Century?

When we cannot even provide ordinary Americans with the energy necessary to run their homes throughout the year?

The current US situation is beyond nationally embarrassing. A more pathetic bundle of braggadocious leader-losers is hard to envision.

And notice their continual excuse-making. Not one person of legitimate principle among them.

How these Puff Piece People make it into supposedly "public" office would confuse me — did I not already know that Big Money paid their Stooge Freight.

"At least we're not commies?"

Is that a legitimate society-protecting position to take?

Or is there — just perhaps — something genuinely evil going on in America?

Like maybe the deadly sin of unrepentant, never-ending and all-obliterating corporate avarice?

And propaganda out the wazoo that benefits no one, except the Parasites at the Top?

The moral? — Did y'all think that the Capitol Riot was an "insurrection"?

Not close. Not by any reasonably applied historical measure.

On the other hand — if y'all Elite Buffoons keep this people-cheating "shit" up — History strongly hints that American Fat Cats may be running for their miserable lives soon.

We will see what happens.

It is entirely possible that American sheep are mentally and soullessly too weak to self-defensively kick wolfish snouts. Even with their Second Amendment rights.

If that is (sadly) so, it ain't just US leaders who are losers.

PeteFree.com

Don't supply power — let blackouts reign — and then charge your customers thousands of dollars?