Tomlinson: Texas lawmakers slow-walking desperately needed electric grid reforms
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/columnists/tomlinson/article/Texas-lawmakers-slow-walking-desperately-needed-16047727.phpMarch 24, 2021
Texas politicians are moving very slowly to address the market failures that left 4 million homes without power on the coldest nights of the year and led to 57 deaths.
We have learned that 185 powerplants on the Texas grid operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas failed last month due to icy weather and temperatures in the single digits. Coal, natural gas and wind facilities all failed, taking 40 percent of ERCOT’s generation offline. Generators were simply not prepared.
Everyone from Gov. Greg Abbott down to the most junior state representative has promised new measures to ensure the grid never fails Texans again. But so far, we’ve seen more talk than action. And most of the action has been to provide cover to an energy industry that failed when we needed it most....
...Proponents promise House Bill 11 will mandate weatherization, but all it does is order the Public Utilities Commission of Texas to draft a rule requiring electric companies “to prepare generation facilities to provide adequate electric generation service during an extreme weather emergency.â€
The bill does not refer to national or international engineering standards, nor does it propose a penalty if a company fails to prepare. The bill is about as vague and toothless as they get....
