Alternating current electricity systems require that demand equals supply in real-time. Any supply-demand imbalance must be remedied in minutes to avoid collapse of the system that would take weeks to repair. And the Texas system was very close to collapse. So why did the Texas blackouts occur when the weather was bitter cold?Could a free market electricity system work? What is the rate of return on regulated utilities? Why are all power companies monopolies? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.