🔐 Abrir TEXTO DE APOIO (material-base da questão)
A deep freeze this week in the Lone Star state, which relies on electricity to heat many homes, is causing power demand to skyrocket. At the same time, natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear facilities in Texas have been knocked offline by the unthinkably low temperatures.
“The extreme cold is causing the entire system to freeze up,” said Jason Bordoff, director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. “All sources of energy are underperforming in the extreme cold because they’re not designed to handle these unusual conditions.”
The ripple effects are being felt around the nation as Texas’ prolific oil-and-gas industry stumbles.
It’s striking that these power outages are happening in a state with abundant energy resources. Texas produces more electricity than any other US state — generating almost twice as much as Florida, the next-closest, according to federal statistics.
Wind power is also booming in Texas, which produced about 28% of all the US wind-powered electricity in 2019, the EIA said. But the problem is that not only is Texas an energy superpower, it tends to be an above-average temperature state. That means its infrastructure is ill-prepared for the cold spell currently wreaking havoc. And the consequences are being felt by millions.
Critics of renewable energy have pointed out that wind turbines have frozen or needed to be shut down due to the extreme weather.
Even though other places with colder weather (like Iowa and Denmark) rely on wind for even larger shares of power, experts said the turbines in Texas were not winterized for the unexpected freeze.
But this is not just about wind turbines going down. Natural gas and coal-fired power plants need water to stay online. Yet those water facilities froze in the cold temperatures and others lost access to the electricity they require to operate.
It’s too early to definitively say what went wrong in Texas and how to prevent similar outages. More information will need to be released by state authorities. Still, some experts say the criticism of wind power appears overdone already. “In terms of the blame game, the focus on wind is a red herring. It’s more of a political issue than what is causing the power problems on the grid,” said Dan Cohan, associate professor of environmental engineering at Rice University.
The energy crisis in Texas raises also questions about the nature of the state’s deregulated and decentralized electric grid. Unlike other states, Texas has made a conscious decision to isolate its grid from the rest of the country.
That means that when things are running smoothly, Texas can’t export excess power to neighboring states. And in the current crisis, it can’t import power either.
QUESTÃO
About ideas stated in the text above and the words used in it, judge the following item.
Extremely cold temperatures in Texas created problems for the distribution of energy in the state.
Certo
Errado
🔐 Abrir GABARITO
🔐 Abrir QUESTÃO COMENTADA (leitura guiada + pegadinhas)
🧭 1️⃣ Leitura orientada
A assertiva avalia a compreensão global do problema energético descrito no texto, verificando a relação de causa e efeito entre temperaturas extremamente baixas e falhas no sistema elétrico.
A banca exige atenção à ideia central: o frio intenso afetou diretamente o funcionamento da infraestrutura energética.
🔍 2️⃣ Análise técnica do trecho
O texto afirma que:
“natural gas, coal, wind and nuclear facilities in Texas have been knocked offline by the unthinkably low temperatures.”
Além disso:
- ✔ O frio extremo fez o sistema “freeze up”.
- ✔ Usinas perderam acesso à água ou eletricidade necessária para operar.
- ✔ A infraestrutura não estava preparada para essas condições.
Logo, as temperaturas extremamente baixas geraram problemas na produção e na distribuição de energia.
⚠️ 3️⃣ Armadilha clássica de interpretação
A assertiva usa a expressão “distribution of energy”. Embora o texto mencione falhas na produção e na infraestrutura, o impacto se estende ao sistema elétrico como um todo, inclusive à disponibilidade e fornecimento.
Portanto, não há distorção semântica relevante.
🧠 4️⃣ Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ O frio extremo desativou diversas fontes de energia.
✔ A infraestrutura não estava preparada para o congelamento.
✔ Houve impacto no fornecimento/distribuição elétrica.
✔ A relação causa–efeito está corretamente expressa.
🔎 Gabarito confirmado: (C) — CERTO