Live data from Hacker News

On power markets, snow storms, and $16k power bills

astanway.medium.com

221–223 of 223 posts

Re: On power markets, snow storms, and $16k power bills

#221
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes that was Griddy that emailed their client base. Whether or not they did it and gave their customers sufficient time to do the switch is another matter (i.e. close of business day timing, normal delays involved in new account enrollment, and so on). EDIT: To be clear I'm not throwing Griddy under the bus for sending email late or without more time. I think they were doing what they could for their customers upon s…

I heard on the news here in Texas that reporters indicated it takes a few days to switch, so while Griddy sent the email, their customers were not able to really act on the advice amidst the crisis. That said, I think it was bad advice from Griddy for a second reason. I think they should have told their customers to just go to their house fuse box and shut off their power to avoid the inevitable huge bill. I'm not su…

I think maybe they assumed people knew that. I would have assumed people knew that; have people never blown a fuse?

Also, several people froze to death. It's a massive liability to tell people to shut their power off when it's below freezing; you could face civil liabilities. And you can't disconnect someone during freezing temperatures. I don't know whether a provider telling you to disconnect yourself would go over super well.

Re: On power markets, snow storms, and $16k power bills

#222
post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I heard on the news here in Texas that reporters indicated it takes a few days to switch, so while Griddy sent the email, their customers were not able to really act on the advice amidst the crisis. That said, I think it was bad advice from Griddy for a second reason. I think they should have told their customers to just go to their house fuse box and shut off their power to avoid the inevitable huge bill. I'm not su…

I think maybe they assumed people knew that. I would have assumed people knew that; have people never blown a fuse? Also, several people froze to death. It's a massive liability to tell people to shut their power off when it's below freezing; you could face civil liabilities. And you can't disconnect someone during freezing temperatures. I don't know whether a provider telling you to disconnect yourself would go over…

good point regarding liabilities

Re: On power markets, snow storms, and $16k power bills

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The phrase I’ve heard for this style of bet is “picking up nickels in front of a steamroller.”

My mental image of a steamroller is slow, so they're dodgeable. I don't think I've ever seen one in real life, come to think of it, so maybe that's just me. I would have called it "Russian roulette". High reward, high chance of an unavoidable catastrophic loss.

Yep, that is the point. Usually, there is no problem picking up the nickles. Every once in a while, you trip, bonk your head, pass out, then do your best impression of a sheet of paper.
Post reply on HN