• Texas power prices soared 20,000% Wednesday evening amid another brutal heat wave.

  • Spot electricity prices topped $5,000 per megawatt-hour, up more than 200 times from Wednesday morning.

  • The state’s grid operator issued its second-highest energy emergency, then later said conditions returned to normal.

    • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      I’m trying so hard… I swear, our ballot boxes should be called wishing wells to better curb my hopes…

      • WHYAREWEALLCAPS@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The problem is Texas Democrats and those who’d stand against Republicans don’t vote. I don’t feel like digging out the exact numbers, but the 2022 gubernatorial race shows it best. Abbott got nearly 80% of the votes Trump did in 2020. Beto got 60% of the votes Biden did. Republicans show up, Democrats don’t. Until that changes. nothing in this state will change.

        • Hot Saucerman@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Wow, I’m so shocked that Democrat turnout is depressed in *checks notes… states that go out of their way to gerrymander so only the Republicans can win, and use authoritarian tactics and putting Yes Men in key positions, have laws like it being illegal to give water to people standing in the voting line, and in general violently repress their Democratic constituents.

          Gee I wonder why those votes might be depressed! It certainly has nothing to do with a system that has already been rigged against them! /s

          Being real though, that’s purposeful on the part of Republicans. They want Democrats to lose hope. Makes their job easier.

          • LibertyLizard@slrpnk.net
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            1 year ago

            Of course, but the only way out is to push through. People need to understand that although republicans put their fingers on the scales in any way they can get away with, with enough resistance and turnout, this can absolutely be overcome. Jaded ideas about election interference, gerrymandering, etc. only create hopeless apathy and make it easier for them to retain a tight grip on power.

            In fact, gerrymandering is often carefully calibrated to a particular electoral environment. It often involves creating many districts with just enough votes to be safe for the incumbent. But if that environment shifts, it can actually backfire as there are a huge number of districts with a similar level of partisan split. If you get enough votes to flip those, there can be a huge change.

            • Demonbooker@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              While your right that the way past it is to literally push through and get the numbers up to break their margins, that’s hard to do when the system is rigged to make it so difficult to vote it might require you taking an entire day off to do it. So many people are living paycheck to paycheck that they can’t afford that, and the people with disposable income and time to do that are the old and the rich who typically vote republican. Which is the point.

          • Jaysyn@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            have laws like it being illegal to give water to people standing in the voting line

            That was found unconstitutional at least.

            • Chozo@kbin.social
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              1 year ago

              When has the Constitution ever stopped Republicans from violating the Constitution?

            • Hot Saucerman@lemmy.ml
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              1 year ago

              Right, but the fact that people in red states have to fight that buffoonery tooth and nail every day is part of why they’re tired and feel like voting is hopeless.

          • thefartographer@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            You know what’s been shocking to me in my last two elections? How much fear I felt turning in my ballot that someone would attack me after. I’d rather die than lose my freedom to vote blue, but I’d rather not die…

          • artisanrox@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            The Governorship isn’t gerrymandered. That’s a literal turnout issue. You HAVE TO vote to not be overlorded by fascists. @

        • reddig33@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The problem is dems keep running Beto instead of making one of the Castro brothers run.

        • stewie3128@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Democrats protest, Republicans vote. One of the primary lessons of high school AP Government 25 years ago.

        • WalrusDragonOnABike@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          True. They need a scapegoat so they know if they say “low wind and unexpected thermal outaged”, they know people are too stupid to realize they’re saying its NG and/or coal plants playing a large role in the shortfalls and that centralized power NG/coal/nuclear power plants also have unpredictable swings in power (sometimes a 2-3 GW on/off if a large plant shuts down). Yet you can look at the comments on ERCOT to find plenty of people blaming renewables and saying we need to build more of those power stations that failed us in the winter storm in 2021 and have be causing issues this summer as well.