Apparently they understood the cold front coming and their limitations, requested exemptions from environmental concerns for more output with the current grid and was denied.
Heard that before, not so.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/02/23/fact-check-doe-order-let-texas-power-agencies-exceed-emissions-limits/4546085001/
The claim: The U.S. Department of Energy blocked the Electric Reliability Council of Texas from allowing electricity generators to operate at maximum capacity in violation of federal permits
As a winter storm blanketed Texas in snow and a deep freeze last week, the state’s main electricity provider instituted rolling blackouts as it struggled to generate enough power to handle the increased load.
Posts circulating on social media falsely claim, though, that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas didn’t have all of the resources it needed because the U.S. Department of Energy denied ERCOT’s request for electricity generators to exceed emissions limits under federal permits.
The claim, posted Feb. 20 by InfoWars and by multiple Facebook users, places the blame squarely on President Joe Biden and acting DOE Secretary David Huizenga who, it says, “blocked Texas from increasing power ahead of a killer storm.”
The order included on those posts, however, shows Huizenga granted ERCOT’s request just before 9 p.m. on Feb. 14.
InfoWars did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
....
ERCOT acknowledged that the request had been granted, too. In a “market notice” sent late in the afternoon on Feb. 14, ERCOT wrote that Huizenga “granted ERCOT’s request” in the order.
There are copies of the actual orders online.