It’s New Year’s Eve, so let’s talk football. And, ok, also electricity production. Up front I admit I’m still pissed off, as a Lions fan, about last night’s result.
But I’m also biased as an energy nerd, and someone who hates to see one of the nation’s largest utility service provider (ERCOT – Energy Reliability Council of Texas) act as a solely owned subsidiary of the oil/gas oligarchy. What’s the common thread? Dallas Cowboys owner and gas billionaire Jerry Jones.
As mainstream NFL commentators come unglued about the obvious robbery of the Lions last night, energy geeks remember that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones profited enormously from 2021’s deadly Texas blackouts, (in which hundreds of Texans died), which happened primarily almost half of Texas’ gas generation (as well as coal and one nuclear plant) froze up when it was most needed. And THAT happened because the energy industry (still – see below) will not be bound by any lefty/communist regulations to disaster-proof the grid.
The winter storms gripping much of the United States have devastated many families and businesses, with frigid temperatures and power outages causing particularly dire conditions in Texas.
But for oil and gas producers that have managed to keep production going, this is proving to be a big payday. Jerry Jones, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Cowboys, appears to be one of the beneficiaries.
Comstock Resources Inc., a shale driller that operates in Texas and Louisiana, told investors on an earnings call this week that the surge in natural gas prices was providing it with a major — albeit almost certainly temporary — financial boost. The company is publicly traded but Jones holds a majority of the shares.
“Obviously, this week is like hitting the jackpot,” President and Chief Financial Officer Roland Burns said Wednesday.
Jerry Jones is doing what he has always done: trying to cash in. He is damn good at it. He is a billionaire for a lot of reasons: business acumen, luck, fearlessness and the willingness to do things like jack up the price of natural gas at a time when the people of Texas need it the most.
Now, Dallas Morning News quotes ERCOT, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s electrical systems:
The Texas electrical grid operator began emergency procedures to prevent total blackout on Tuesday as the heat lead to record electricity demand, and told customers to brace for a repeat in the next few days.
The high temperatures also caused about 20 power plants to stop working, including at least one coal-fired plant and natural gas plants.
..such outages aren’t unusual in the hot summer, and Texas is getting some juice from surrounding states and from Mexico.
“They can’t really efficiently condense the steam that’s used to make electricity, so that causes unit deratings that they can’t generate as much as they could if the lake were cooler.”
Meanwhile, some 1,800 MW of wind generation were available yesterday, more than double the 800 MW that ERCOT counts on during periods of peak summer demand for its long-term planning purposes. 1,800 MW is enough to power about 360,000 homes under the very high electricity demand seen yesterday.
