Sorry if I missed it, but would "being part of the federal system" (sorry if this is phrased incorrectly) have done anything to help prevent Texas' situation? I see people referencing that, but I'm unclear how that figures into it exactly.
My understanding is the biggest failure is/was energy providers failing to act on recommendations to better weatherproof power facilities after the last major blackout event 10 years ago. Because that was all it was, a recommendation without any weight behind it and the energy producers passed as it was “too costly.”
Then, ERCOT failed to order additional available power online 2 weeks ago when the forecast became abundantly clear. Those supplies were down for maintenance but could have been brought up in time. Their refusal to respond to why it was not done has led to mass speculation of a cash grab for certain groups.
For the most part, sensors freezing leading to generator failure and an unknown ability/desire to ramp back up production, which was possible, to meet a very clear increased demand.
And to be clear, the generator failures occurred across all generator fields. Nuclear, coal, natural gas, and wind turbine.
So if being part of federal oversight could have insured that weatherized recommendations were met as well as ensured forecasted power demands were met, it could have made a huge difference.
But I am not an expert in the field so I have no idea.