Trouble in Texas feat. Mark Nelson

The Texan grid AKA the Electric Reliability Council of
Texas (ERCOT) is a house of cards. It is an energy only,
deregulated market which does not reward keeping spare generation
capacity on board and keeps a razor thin cushion to buffer
against unpredictable surges in demand. It has isolated its grid
from the rest of the conry in order to avoid federal reguation.
Texas has made the decision to invest heavily in wind and natural
gas, pairing an unpredictable and intermittent energy source with
a dispatchable source that relies on just in time delivery of its
fuel. 


In the clutches of a polar vortex which has covered wind
turbines in ice, frozen natural gas infrastructure and driven up
demand for gas for both home heating and electricity ERCOT is
strained to the breaking point with rolling blackouts affecting
millions in this freezing weather. Welcome back for another
Decouple short. We are joined by energy analyst Mark Nelson, the
managing director of the Radiant Energy Fund to understand this
breaking news out of Texas.