Shithole state. Why don’t they bury power lines in burgerland?
costs ~3x more
Infrastructure* is always worth it IMO.
*Excluding car infrastructure
Fr. How much must the economy lose to such frequent power outages. I suppose if you’re getting paid to reconstruct, it’s not ‘loss’.
high cost and lack of population density. I don’t think that’s really the worst part about TX’s grid though.
But its almost entirely just the Houston Metro without power at this point, not the rural areas. Density isn’t great, but it should be enough to justify given how frequent major storms are in the area and how costly all the shutdowns and repairs are.
yeah, I don’t really have the expertise to know. I thought flooding was an issue for buried lines? but I guess houston is no new orleans…
The good thing about above ground lines is they’re comparatively really easy to work on and repair. But that doesn’t help if like 100s or thousands of them are knocked out in one swoop I guess
The fact that Texas doesn’t riot over this is a testament to ideology.
I’m sorry a category ONE hurricane blew out the fucking power grid? lol come on Texas
Centerpoint, the privatized power company the maintains the grid in Houston, did not bother to stage linemen before the storm, which is the normal practice. Linemen had to come from out of state after the storm. Then, centerpoint told the linemen once they were here that they would have to find and pay for their own accommodations. That has never been the case before. Finally, they are trying to low-ball the linemen, so there are pay negotiations ongoing. Also they’re spending a lot of time idle in parking lots waiting to be assigned work by centerpoint.
This is what privatized utilities do.
My mind always goes to an inevitable Cat 3 that knocks out power, floods the lower regions and then leaves people stranded dealing with the heat and non potable water. Texans’ thanaton death drive is a sight to behold and that they have not formed a mob to hunt down their elected officials really shows how domesticated they are.
