Right. Not small problems. The bullet points deserve listing. It's a FAIL.
* There were unprecedented unplanned generating unit losses, with nearly 90,000 megawatts out at the same time.
* Nearly 80 percent of the generating units failed to perform at temperatures above their own documented minimum operating temperatures.
* Several electric grid operators had to shed firm load to maintain system reliability.
* Natural gas pipeline pressures dropped largely because of freeze-related production declines in production of Marcellus (23 percent) and Utica (54 percent) shales, as well as other natural gas infrastructure freeze- and equipment-related problems. Every cold weather inquiry report that has studied natural gas production has found cold-related declines in natural gas production, by as much as 70 percent in some cases.
Consolidated Edison Inc., which serves the greater New York Metropolitan area, faced reliability-threatening low pressures on its delivery pipelines, forcing it to declare an emergency and use its own liquefied natural gas facility to maintain service.
--Einstein gave the same test to students every year. When asked why he would do something like that, "Because the answers had changed."