2021年经济学人 黑暗冬季惨剧--“美国能源之都”瘫痪(3)

The state’s deregulated power market is also fiercely competitive. ERCOT oversees¹ the grid², while power generators³ produce electricity for the wholesale⁴ market. Some 300 retail⁵ electricity providers buy that fuel and then compete for consumers. Because such cold weather is rare, energy companies do not invest in “winterising” their equipment, as this would raise their prices for consumers. Perhaps most important, the state does not have a “capacity market” to ensure that there was extra power available for surging demand. Such systems elsewhere act as a sort of insurance policy so the lights will not go out, but it also means customers pay higher bills.

开放的得州电力市场竞争激烈。得克萨斯州电力可靠性协会负责监管电网，各大发电商为电力批发市场发电。大约300家零售电力供应商购买电力燃料争夺消费者。这样的寒冷天气在得州极其罕见，因此能源公司并未投资“过冬”设备，因为这将提高他们为消费者的定价。也许最重要的一点在于，得州没有设立“发电容量市场”，以确保其有额外电力可供激增的需求。为保险起见，其他地区设立了发电容量市场系统，能够确保当地的灯不会熄灭，但这同样意味着用户需要支付更高额的账单。

For years the benefits of Texas’s deregulated market structure were clear. At 8.6 cents per kilowatt⁶ hour, the state’s average retail price for electricity is around onefifth lower than the national average and about half the cost of California’s. In 1999 the state set targets for renewables, and today it accounts for around 30% of America’s wind energy.

多年来，得州电力市场的开放性结构带来的好处清晰可见。该州的平均零售电价为每千瓦时8.6美分，比美国平均电价低五分之一左右，约为加州电价的一半。1999年，得州制定了可再生能源的目标，如今其可再生能源占美国风能的30%左右。

This disaster is prompting people to question whether Texas’s system is as resilient and well-designed as people previously⁷ believed. Greg Abbott, the governor, has called for an investigation⁸ into ERCOT. This storm “has exposed some serious weaknesses in our free-market approach in Texas”, says Luke Metzger of Environment Texas, a non-profit, who had been without power for three full days when The Economist⁹ went to press.

这场灾难促使人们质疑得克萨斯州的电力系统是否像人们之前认为的那样具有弹性且构思甚佳。州长格雷格·阿博特呼吁对得克萨斯州电力可靠性协会展开调查。非营利组织得州环境的卢克·梅茨格表示，这场暴风雪“暴露了得州自由市场方法的一些严重弱点”。在《经济学人》付印时，卢克·梅茨格已经停电整整三天了。

1 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

2 grid   

n.高压输电线路网；地图坐标方格；格栅

参考例句：

• In this application,the carrier is used to encapsulate the grid.在这种情况下，要用载体把格栅密封起来。
• Modern gauges consist of metal foil in the form of a grid.现代应变仪则由网格形式的金属片组成。

3 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

5 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

6 kilowatt   

n.千瓦

参考例句：

• They pay thirty fen per kilowatt hour.他们每度电付三角钱。
• The watt is a small unit of power so that we use the kilowatt instead.瓦特是小功率的单位，因此我们用千瓦代之。

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。