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LetMyPeopleVote

(144,005 posts)
Sun Nov 28, 2021, 04:03 PM Nov 2021

Abbott's failure to fix power grid could be key issue in next year's gubernatorial race

Greg has done nothing to fix the grid. All of Texas is at risk due to Greg's failures




O’Rourke, for his part, says that this will “absolutely” be a central issue in his campaign. In addition to the harm caused by the freeze itself, there’s the fact that state leaders haven’t fixed the electric grid yet, and have left Texans to pay for it—via “an Abbott tax,” as O’Rourke has put it.

“It’s still very much on people’s minds,” he said on Friday. “And they will be reminded of it every single month that they pay their utility bill and see the surcharge that is covering up for the incompetence of our current governor and the greed of those who profited from the misery of so many people in this community.”

He added that we continue to learn more about the freeze, and its aftermath. This week Brad Jones, the interim CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), told NBC 5 in Dallas that he has concerns about a law passed this year which in theory requires gas companies to weatherize. The companies could, instead, simply fill out a one-page form and pay a nominal fee—which is, as Jones put it, an “easy out.”

“More news comes out every single day,” O’Rourke said. “We got a report from ERCOT earlier this week that the gas supply CEOs were let off the hook--(for a nominal) $150 and they no longer had to invest in weatherization of their wellheads and protecting the gas supply. We also learned that a failure to supply gas, because of the lack of investment and weatherization, was one of the primary causes of the power outages that we found in Texas.”

An October poll from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune found just 18 percent of voters approve of how state leaders have handled the issue.
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Abbott's failure to fix power grid could be key issue in next year's gubernatorial race (Original Post) LetMyPeopleVote Nov 2021 OP
Greg has done nothing to fix the grid LetMyPeopleVote Nov 2021 #1
More Texans paying the #Abbotttax (The cost of having Abbott as Governor LetMyPeopleVote Dec 2021 #2
Greg is out for Greg and will not fit grid LetMyPeopleVote Jan 2022 #3
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