[Post Millennial] Biden Energy Department used environmental regulations to block Texas from increasing available power before storm
The order, dated to Feb 14, noted that Texas Governor Greg Abbott "declared a state of disaster in all 254 Texas counties due to severe weather posing an 'imminent threat of widespread and severe property damage, injury, and loss of life due to prolonged freezing temperatures, heavy snow, and freezing rain statewide.'"
"The order specified increasing the priority of gas supplies to ERCOT generators. ERCOT's application also noted that the 'Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has indicated that it will provide enforcement discretion to generators in the ERCOT region that may exceed state emissions requirements during emergency conditions.'"
Only pandemics let you change the rules. And only for voting.
However, while ERCOT was given permission to increase the amount of power generated, the Department of Energy placed environmental regulations as a top priority ahead of maximizing power generation.
Deep Green Freeze, indeed!
"To minimize adverse environmental impacts, this Order limits operation of dispatched units to the times and within the parameters determined by ERCOT for reliability purposes," the order reads. "Consistent with good utility practice, ERCOT shall exhaust all reasonably and practically available resources, including available imports, demand response, and identified behind-the-meter generation resources selected to minimize an increase in emissions, to the extent that such resources provide support to maintain grid reliability, prior to dispatching the Specified Resources." |