In a new TV ad, Dan Patrick is using campaign dollars to rewrite what happened after the February Freeze and deflect from his oversight of one of the most massive failures in Texas history.

But here are some key facts you ought to know about his failure to fix the damn grid: FACT: Dan Patrick and the Legislature were warned numerous times — including by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — about the risk of a Uri-like freeze and chose to do NOTHING.
grist.org/energy/texas-w…

THREAD: I make my living working in the energy industry, so I wanted to take a moment to explain what is currently happening with our rickety power grid
1/6 As Monday began, several natural-gas-fired power plants unexpectedly went offline all across the state

Suddenly, our grid was short 12,000 megawatts of electricity — enough to power nearly 2.4 million homes
2/6

🧵For some, today is a day of celebration. As for me, it’s a reminder of good public policy.

The fact is that marijuana has always been effectively legal for the rich.

It has been communities of color that have disproportionately borne the burden of decades of bad policy. With over two-thirds of Texans (Republicans and Democrats!) supporting marijuana legalization, we have the opportunity to add to the growing list of states legalizing cannabis.

But despite bipartisan support in the Texas House and Senate, one man stands in the way: Dan Patrick.

The root causes of our property tax and school funding crisis are three consequential decisions that blew huge holes in state and school funding. First, in 1991, we froze the motor fuel tax at $0.20 per gallon. The resulting annual structural deficit is $4 billion today... Second, in 1997, we opened a massive loophole in the property tax law allowing owners of large commercial and industrial properties to cheat the system by $5 billion per year...