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This huge grid also means that, in emergencies, power can be directed where it's needed.
这个巨大的电网也意味着，在紧急情况下，电力可以流到需要的地方。
Like in Oklahoma, which was also hit bad during the February winter storm. They needed more power.
就像在俄克拉何马州，在二月的冬季暴风雪中也受到了严重的打击，他们需要更多的电力。
And instead of completely losing it, they were able to get electricity from neighboring states through the grid.
他们并没有完全失去电力，而是能够通过电网从邻州获得电力。
But it's not so seamless to send it to Texas.
但把它送到得克萨斯州并不是无缝衔接的。
Texas opted out of the big grids, back when they were being built, nearly a hundred years ago.
早在近百年前，得克萨斯州就在正在建设大电网的时候选择退出。
Since they covered several states, it meant the federal government could regulate them. Texas was not into that.
由于它们覆盖了几个州，这意味着联邦政府可以对它们进行监管，而得克萨斯州不喜欢那样。
Texas decided to kind of go it alone.
得克萨斯州决定独立出来。
It's a very uniquely Texas-type thing to do.
这是一个非常独特的得州式做法。
So most of Texas is on its own grid.
所以得克萨斯州大部分地区都有自己的电网。
It means they don't have to follow the same regulations as the rest of the country, like reliability and cost standards.
这意味着他们不必像美国其他州一样遵循同样的法规，比如可靠性和成本标准。
But it also means when it lost power in the storm, it couldn't easily get electricity from other states.
但这也意味着，当它在暴风雪中失去电力时，它无法轻易从其他州获得电力。
Its independence kept it in the dark.
它的独立性使它一直处在黑暗之中。
But it wasn't the reason it went dark in the first place.
但这并不是当初没电的原因。
Being on its own, Texas has to make all their own power.
得克萨斯州要独立自主，就必须自力更生获得电力。
They have a variety of sources.
他们有各种各样的电力来源。
When the storm came, it affected every one.
暴风雪来临时，每一种都受到了影响。
Several coal plants stopped operating, as coal piles froze.
由于煤堆冻结，几家燃煤电厂都停止了运转。
One of four Texan nuclear plants went offline.
得克萨斯州四座核电站中的一座已经关闭。
Some wind turbines stopped working in the freezing cold.
有些风力涡轮机在严寒中停止了工作。
But the biggest failure, in terms of its magnitude and its impact, was the natural gas system.
但就其规模和影响而言，最大的失败就是天然气系统。
Natural gas, which actually contains water vapor, froze in storage wells and pipelines.
实际上含有水蒸气的天然气冻结在了储存井和管道。
Every one of these systems failed, in part.
这些系统中的每一个部分都失灵了。
And it had nothing to do with the type of energy, and everything to do with these companies not being prepared for the cold.
而这与能源类型无关，一切都与这些公司没有做好应对寒冷的准备有关。
Clearly, you can run an energy system in cold temperatures.
显然，你可以在低温下运行一个能源系统。
There are wind turbines operating in Antarctica, and gas plants in Alaska and Alberta. So this is not a technology-specific issue.
南极洲有风力涡轮机，阿拉斯加州和阿尔伯塔省有天然气厂，所以这不是一个特定于技术的问题。
It was more a failure to anticipate that this is something that could even occur in Texas at this length and severity, and to prepare for extreme cold temperatures.
更糟糕的是，人们没有预料到这种情况会在得克萨斯州持续得如此漫长和严重，而且也没有为极端寒冷的气温做好准备。
But it should have been anticipated.
但这应该是预料之中的。
Because this has happened in Texas before.
因为这种事以前在得州发生过。
