What is the reason for the energy crisis that Texas is going through, one of the richest cities in energy resources?

ArabiaWeather - The massive power outage in the US state of Texas seems puzzling to many, how can a country so rich in energy resources defeat a winter storm and leave millions of homes without electricity, and many homes without water!

As large parts of Texas woke up Thursday to another day of an electricity crisis amid extremely cold winter weather, water system problems added to the suffering of many state residents, as Texans were alerted to boil tap water before drinking it, after the drastic decline in Infrastructure temperatures, blackouts and freezing of water pipes, leaving thousands of Texas residents without water, and millions of residents across the United States without electricity or heat source, and the largest water treatment facility in Austin lost capacity and water pressure decreased, following The severe winter storm that the country is exposed to this week.

Dozens have died due to the weather and the energy crisis, most of them in Texas, and another major winter storm is expected, leading to more heavy snow, freezing rain and extreme cold, with travel halted in most parts of the United States and thousands of flights and roads canceled. Unsafe wild and disrupted study.

However, staying at home also carries risks in places that live without electricity or heating.Some Texans have posted videos on social media burning old furniture to keep warm, and others have shared pictures of floods caused by bursting pipes and collapsing ceilings, and a hospital was forced Some of the most needy patients were transferred to other facilities and others were taken out after the loss of water pressure, which affected its heating system.

The cause of the energy crisis experienced by Texas

The exceptional snowstorm, accompanied by frost covering the entire region, is the direct cause of the energy crisis afflicting Texas, as the demand for electricity increased dramatically, but there are other reasons for the exacerbation of the energy crisis in Texas:

1. The severe cold caused a decrease in energy production from renewable sources due to the freezing of wind turbines and solar panels. At night, electricity production from wind energy represents only 3% of the total energy, but it rises in the morning to 18%, despite the fact that the wind energy in Texas is the largest in North America, and the fifth in the world, and solar energy production has dropped a lot and reached very low levels.

2. The sudden decrease in energy production from renewable sources resulted in a historic rise in the prices of electricity, gas and oil products, after the refineries were closed due to frost and electricity cuts. Not all the reserve gas stations could cover the shortage, so the amount of electrical reserves decreased, and electricity prices rose in a frenzy, Every electrical system is a minimum that is generated from sources such as coal, nuclear power and oil. It is met with gas and renewable energy. If the use of renewable energy increases, it needs more backup gas stations.

3. Although gas stations increased production with the rise in prices, pressure on gas stations, in addition to the presence of water in some gas pipelines, stopped the production of electricity in a number of backup gas stations, which are supposed to cover the deficit in the electricity supply resulting from energy Renewable .

4. The high demand for energy was not expected, and the reasons for it are multiple, the most important of which is that the systems are designed to meet the peak electricity demand in the summer, and homes are designed to be cooled by air conditioners, so that they get rid of heat, not to retain heat. All construction operations are designed to cool homes, not to protect them from the cold, and houses and facilities are designed for low temperature differences between winter and summer, but the difference has now become large, and central heating devices consume more electricity than air conditioners, so the demand has increased dramatically .

5. The issue has also taken political dimensions, with Republicans blaming renewable energy, while Democrats blame gas, coal and nuclear energy, and Republican Party supporters, including experts, will criticize any statements by Democratic officials, and vice versa: Supporters of the Democratic Party will criticize what In that experts, any statements of Republican politicians . This is why you should pay attention to the political aspect when reading or reporting any statements due to the current big political divide over the Texas energy crisis .

6. The indirect cause of the crisis is the state government policies that resulted in weak investment in infrastructure, which did not bear the pressures of recent loads. It is supposed to use supplies from other states, but politicians in Texas decided years ago to separate the electricity sector from other states.