By this point in the summer, Texans know the drill. Sometime before dusk we’re likely to get a notice from our utility providers politely asking us to reduce energy usage, usually between the hours of 6-9 p.m. when solar power wanes. We grumble to ourselves for a minute, then dutifully shut off the dishwasher and laundry machine, turn off any unnecessary lights and raise our thermostats a few degrees. In the past two weeks alone, we’ve been asked to do this eight different times. We’re guessing only a few goody-goodies out there have done so every single time.
Why should anyone feel put upon to suffer a sweaty house if pipeline companies allegedly bilked the system by the billions when the grid needed them most?
Even so, our collective voluntary action has helped. Our wobbly grid hasn’t yet forced any major outages this summer. In the meantime, power generators reap a windfall when energy demand nearly exceeds supply.
