It's been hot. That is what happens this time of year when the sun nears the Tropic of Cancer, before heading back toward the equator. We are in the hottest weeks of summer now until August 17th. Earlier in the week, I passed a building that I normally view from the front side. But this view was of the back and what really shocked me was the size of the monster air conditioners on the roof top. I just never had envisioned such a building needing that much cooling power.
Then, today, while our before it reached the heat of the day, I took a picture of a bank of electric meters in one of many new apartment complexes that are invading every vacant lot in Dallas. Looking at the meters and wondering if maybe I should take another shot or two, my brain slapped me with the realization that all these new meters would be using electricity.
ERCOT (The Electric Reliability Council of Texas) is one of nine ISO (Independent System Organization---they are 501(c) (3) non-profits ☺) that manages the flow of electricity for this region. There job or function is to schedule power on the electric grid.So when we have a power brown out it's ERCOT that will tell us to cut back on our use---which I have never understood, because someone is using it and ERCOT is telling us to cut back. It gets much more complicated than that and is one of those things that ruffles my feathers more than other things in general.
A bank of Philadelphia lawyers would need years to figure out some of the stuff that goes on there. I'm still wondering after the utility told us that we can't get reduced rates because of the wind farms in west Texas, have no transmission lines yet. But somehow, General Motors Arlington plant is getting 100 percent of their power from wind generation that will cut their bill by $300,000 a month--or was it 3 Million a month--or even 300 Million a month. It was up there in a galaxy far away from my bill and I monitor my usage like Ft. Knox. For what reason I don't know since TXU (I can't remember who they are now) already knows how much electricity I will use before I use it.I am a creature of habit, but gee! That is really scary.
A couple of years ago, I got a really good education on why Florida Power and Light was using the wind from their farms in west Texas--in fact--the largest wind farm at the time in west Texas was owned by the parent of Florida Power and Light. Go figure. On second thought---you really don't want to know. It would have been better had I not found out some of the shenanigans with electric companies. Now, that would take a few years of graduates from all the law schools in the US working 24/7 to get to the bottom of that mess. And the latest reveal was made in the past couple of weeks when Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway bought the delivery arm of the former TXU here in Dallas, which would be ONCOR--the only profitable arm, I might add since TXU built all the coal gas generation plants and then filed bankruptcy. Not once, but twice, mind you. I know, somewhere, some of these facts probably don't apply anymore since the deception is like the function of an ISO--scheduling changes to stay one step ahead of the blood hounds.
Don't get me wrong. I could not live in Texas without air conditioning. I don't mean to be a "hater" as the new social media term might say that I am. Sorry, but for most of the millenniums today, I forgot more about corporate wrangling in the first two hours that I was up this morning than they will learn over the term of their first decade on their own (when they finally decide to leave the nest) so don't use so much electricity charging your I-phone would you.
Oh, I'm just talking about apartments here. That's not new commercial construction, residential construction and places in Frisco that might be something else than a sports complex.Recently a new mid rise office tower in Uptown cancelled their grand opening that was scheduled. It appeared that the reason was just that they didn't need it---the place sold out while in the final stage of construction.
Then, today, while our before it reached the heat of the day, I took a picture of a bank of electric meters in one of many new apartment complexes that are invading every vacant lot in Dallas. Looking at the meters and wondering if maybe I should take another shot or two, my brain slapped me with the realization that all these new meters would be using electricity.
ERCOT (The Electric Reliability Council of Texas) is one of nine ISO (Independent System Organization---they are 501(c) (3) non-profits ☺) that manages the flow of electricity for this region. There job or function is to schedule power on the electric grid.So when we have a power brown out it's ERCOT that will tell us to cut back on our use---which I have never understood, because someone is using it and ERCOT is telling us to cut back. It gets much more complicated than that and is one of those things that ruffles my feathers more than other things in general.
A bank of Philadelphia lawyers would need years to figure out some of the stuff that goes on there. I'm still wondering after the utility told us that we can't get reduced rates because of the wind farms in west Texas, have no transmission lines yet. But somehow, General Motors Arlington plant is getting 100 percent of their power from wind generation that will cut their bill by $300,000 a month--or was it 3 Million a month--or even 300 Million a month. It was up there in a galaxy far away from my bill and I monitor my usage like Ft. Knox. For what reason I don't know since TXU (I can't remember who they are now) already knows how much electricity I will use before I use it.I am a creature of habit, but gee! That is really scary.
A couple of years ago, I got a really good education on why Florida Power and Light was using the wind from their farms in west Texas--in fact--the largest wind farm at the time in west Texas was owned by the parent of Florida Power and Light. Go figure. On second thought---you really don't want to know. It would have been better had I not found out some of the shenanigans with electric companies. Now, that would take a few years of graduates from all the law schools in the US working 24/7 to get to the bottom of that mess. And the latest reveal was made in the past couple of weeks when Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway bought the delivery arm of the former TXU here in Dallas, which would be ONCOR--the only profitable arm, I might add since TXU built all the coal gas generation plants and then filed bankruptcy. Not once, but twice, mind you. I know, somewhere, some of these facts probably don't apply anymore since the deception is like the function of an ISO--scheduling changes to stay one step ahead of the blood hounds.
Don't get me wrong. I could not live in Texas without air conditioning. I don't mean to be a "hater" as the new social media term might say that I am. Sorry, but for most of the millenniums today, I forgot more about corporate wrangling in the first two hours that I was up this morning than they will learn over the term of their first decade on their own (when they finally decide to leave the nest) so don't use so much electricity charging your I-phone would you.
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Imagine 40,000 of these that are under construction since this time last year, with no sign of it slowing down. Oh, these are the new "smart" meters--not the old analog of our parents and forefathers. |
