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This consultation has concluded. All submissions will be archived at the Austin History Center. Thank you.
The Winter Storm Review Task Force wants to hear from the community and organizational representatives about your experiences during and in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri. This webpage is dedicated to capture your unique stories submitted through written testimony, video footage, and pictures.
Please use the tools on the tabs below to share your story. You may also email your feedback to community@austintexas.gov by June 30, 2021.
Additionally, the Task Force will hold virtual listening sessions for public testimony. A report summarizing the stories captured on this webpage and during the listening sessions will be submitted to City Council by July 30, 2021, and the collage of stories received will be archived at the Austin History Center.
The Winter Storm Review Task Force wants to hear from the community and organizational representatives about your experiences during and in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri. This webpage is dedicated to capture your unique stories submitted through written testimony, video footage, and pictures.
Please use the tools on the tabs below to share your story. You may also email your feedback to community@austintexas.gov by June 30, 2021.
Additionally, the Task Force will hold virtual listening sessions for public testimony. A report summarizing the stories captured on this webpage and during the listening sessions will be submitted to City Council by July 30, 2021, and the collage of stories received will be archived at the Austin History Center.
Please submit your written testimony describing your experience during Winter Storm Uri and the aftermath. Your testimony is read only, so no one can comment or like your post. All submissions will be archived at the Austin History Center. Thank you.
This consultation has concluded. All submissions will be archived at the Austin History Center. Thank you.
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I personally suffered no tragic loss during or after URI - "merely" inconvenience and a near-death driving experience. However, my friends around the state suffered greatly due to this state's poor energy and infrastructure integrity policies and practices. Many of my friends received no natural gas supply for heat due to being cut off from remote supply sources. They experienced much personal discomfort as well as damage to their homes. The lack of localized storage for natural gas is a key shortcoming in the infrastructure needed for energy security. While gas pipelines actually do provide a great deal of storage, when a big winter storm like URI hits, the extreme drawdown by all consumers quickly saps the capacity. When supplies to residential neighborhoods are cut off for days, folks that depend on gas heat can die. When, supplies to power generators are curtailed for extended periods, folks that depend on electricity for survival will die. Now, even more loss of life is being attributed to this event… but, we know it was not an event. It was misguided policy and neglect that caused the loss of life. When our state and local governments give their support to the installing of localized natural gas storage facilities, we will see that power plants do not have to compete with individuals for gas supplies. A few days of gas storage at plants like Austin Power’s Sand Hill facility would avoid a dangerous struggle for supply from remote gas fields. Many power generators across the nation are turning to LNG (that is, Liquefied Natural Gas) storage at their facilities to ensure energy security… but, LNG has a big carbon footprint… and, Austinites seek to limit carbon exhaust. Fortunately, Pressurized LNG or PLNG was invented 5 decades ago and this century was proven to cost much less and require half as much energy as LNG… meaning half as much CO2 being generated. Until today, the problem with PLNG has been that there never was a practical means for storing large volumes. Now, ezNG Solutions offers a practical means for PLNG storage. However, even though PLNG is simpler, much less costly, and much greener than LNG, it will still take money… and government support… to ensure that power plants get the localized gas storage WE all need. http://ezngsolutions.com/ For many years now, Texas energy policy has not provided a foundation for encouraging most baseload electricity generators to adequately invest in energy security… while wind and solar energy providers have been incentivized in ways that have greatly increased energy costs for most consumers.
To sign up to speak at the listening session, please contact the Staff Liaison at512-974-6339 or WinterStormTaskForce@austintexas.govno later than noon the day before the meeting.
Please provide the Speaker's name, email address and the telephone number that will be used to call into the meeting.
Once a request to speak has been made to the Staff Liaison, the information to call on the day of the scheduled meeting will be provided either by email or phone call.
Speakers must call in at least 15 minutes prior to meeting start time in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak.
Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak.
Interpretation services will be provided in Spanish. If interpretation for other languages are needed, please call 3-1-1 no later than five days before the meeting you wish to attend.
Handouts or other information you want shared with the Task Force members may be emailed to WinterStormTaskForce@austintexas.gov by noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to the Task Force members in advance of the meeting.
I personally suffered no tragic loss during or after URI - "merely" inconvenience and a near-death driving experience. However, my friends around the state suffered greatly due to this state's poor energy and infrastructure integrity policies and practices.
Many of my friends received no natural gas supply for heat due to being cut off from remote supply sources. They experienced much personal discomfort as well as damage to their homes.
The lack of localized storage for natural gas is a key shortcoming in the infrastructure needed for energy security. While gas pipelines actually do provide a great deal of storage, when a big winter storm like URI hits, the extreme drawdown by all consumers quickly saps the capacity. When supplies to residential neighborhoods are cut off for days, folks that depend on gas heat can die. When, supplies to power generators are curtailed for extended periods, folks that depend on electricity for survival will die. Now, even more loss of life is being attributed to this event… but, we know it was not an event. It was misguided policy and neglect that caused the loss of life.
When our state and local governments give their support to the installing of localized natural gas storage facilities, we will see that power plants do not have to compete with individuals for gas supplies. A few days of gas storage at plants like Austin Power’s Sand Hill facility would avoid a dangerous struggle for supply from remote gas fields.
Many power generators across the nation are turning to LNG (that is, Liquefied Natural Gas) storage at their facilities to ensure energy security… but, LNG has a big carbon footprint… and, Austinites seek to limit carbon exhaust. Fortunately, Pressurized LNG or PLNG was invented 5 decades ago and this century was proven to cost much less and require half as much energy as LNG… meaning half as much CO2 being generated. Until today, the problem with PLNG has been that there never was a practical means for storing large volumes.
Now, ezNG Solutions offers a practical means for PLNG storage. However, even though PLNG is simpler, much less costly, and much greener than LNG, it will still take money… and government support… to ensure that power plants get the localized gas storage WE all need.
http://ezngsolutions.com/
For many years now, Texas energy policy has not provided a foundation for encouraging most baseload electricity generators to adequately invest in energy security… while wind and solar energy providers have been incentivized in ways that have greatly increased energy costs for most consumers.