Rolling blackouts

I agree...sounds high, real high. I doubt phantom loads account for more than 1-2% of the average persons bill...I mean heck, look at this chart from energystar, electronics only account for 21% of the bill, and that includes the power to actually operate them, which will use a lot more power than being on standby will. On a larger scale, that would include commercial and industrial, about 50% of all electricity is used to power electric motors...which have really only seen minor improvements in efficiency in recent years.
Insulation/air sealing is a big thing that individuals can do to lower their electric usage, especially if there is electric heat being used!
Breaking Down the Typical Utility Bill

 

Living like you do, I can see how you would find it hard to believe it's that high. We have multiple tvs, cable boxes, dvd players, and gaming systems in our house. We have a microwave, a double electric oven, alarm clocks in 4 different bedrooms, a computer that's always plugged in and probably more but you get the picture...lots of items constantly pulling energy.

 

Here's a couple websites regarding the amount of phantom energy. I don't post these to prove any point, just so that anyone reading this can learn how to reduce wasted money on their electric bills. Obviously, this will vary from home to home but I'm sure most of us with kids can save a lot!
Phantom Energy: Facts, Examples, And Real Solutions! | Home Efficiency Guide
How To Stop Wasting Money and Energy on Phantom Power – Honestly Modern

 

Sadly, as much as my family has, we have less than many around here...by choice

 

Not that long ago our VCRs, TVs, etc., used to be "off" when you turned them off and there was a small phantom drain based on what was said previously, a clock or ROM memory keeping the settings the same when you turned it back on. We also didn't care about a mind numbing minute when said devices powered back on and took a bit to start back up. Those all had phantom loads but extremely minimal.

Now, in our instant gratification society, if a device isn't on and ready to go in a couple of seconds it gets tossed out for the newest latest and greatest. So now instead of an off state, we have "standby" which does draw a lot more electricity than one would think, 25% isn't an unrealistic #. It took me a while to wrap my brain around this until we did a power off vs. unplug test for a month. Saved well over $75 off a $250 electricity bill (the majority of the rest is water heating, which we didn't unplug). The computers were the worst culprit, mine (which is not the same as yours) pulls 50-100 watts in standby depending on what I leave running. The wife's laptop was pretty bad also, even being energy star compliant. The routers which happily transmit data while you're sleeping for the night never slow down, they're always at full power. Roku, treadmill, firestick, printer, router, wireless repeater, tablet(s), etc., all draw power and it all adds up.

There was considerable outrage when at the outskirts of Austin or Dallas (I think, feel free to correct) there was rolling blackouts and the city center was lit up as normal. Hundreds of thousands of office lights on, thousands of printers ready to churn out a page in an instant, heaters cranking away, and countless computers ready to go at an instant. All at 1 AM when there isn't a person in sight and most commercial spaces aren't even occupied currently due to the pandemic, or the weather.

I'd be pizzed also. And when I say pizzed you know I meant to say pizzed (show reference to the autocorrect).

 

I guess we were supposed to be out for thirty minutes, ended up being 3 1/2 hours and was around 10 below zero when it went out.
I don’t know about all the big box stores like Lowes or Home Depot etc., but have you ever drove past a menards store after hours in the dark??? Gets my blood boiling every time.

 

Luckily our power company is not in the power pool doing the rolling blackouts, still think there has to be a better way of handling this situation.
I feel their pain in Texas, losing power when its cold out is like getter kicked in the guts or lower.

 

And, i think we are just getting started!!

 

Yes Texas has it own grid to stay out of federal regulations, now they get to play the blame game, its a game us humans love to play.
I still have some unanswered questions in my head but wont bore anyone with that.