Some Democratic Congress members from Texas are pushing a new bill that would require the state’s grid operator to connect to the federal power grid.
The bill, called the Connect the Grid Act, would mandate Texas grid operator the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to work with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and other grid-operating groups along the state’s borders to connect to the nation’s major electric grids, ideally providing more grid reliability for the Lone Star state.
“Today is the anniversary of the horrific Texas winter storm, Winter Storm Uri,” the bill’s sponsor, U.S. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Austin) said after filing the bill Wednesday. “Three years ago today, over 10 million Texans needlessly lost power. Hundreds of people died, and there were mass power outages that we all knew could have been avoided.”
Casar said that no member of Congress responded more quickly to the corporate price gouging that Texans faced in Winter Storm Uri than U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio).
Castro stressed the financial burdens Uri left on Texans, adding that Texans deserve a reliable safe and affordable electric system. He said this is why he is supporting the Connect the Grid Act.
“There were a handful of favorite companies that made billions of dollars off of the suffering and the sacrifice of Texans during that winter storm,” Castro said at a news conference. “We can’t let that happen again.”
San Antonians, for example, are paying an additional $1.26 fee on their monthly CPS Energy bills for the next 24 years to help the utility pay off the tab it racked up during Uri buying additional electricity and natural gas through ERCOT.
ERCOT allowed wholesale electricity prices to soar during Winter Storm Uri, costing the municipally owned utility roughly $1 billion. While CPS Energy was able to combat some of those charges over a year of legal battles, it was still left on the hook to pay $418 million to other energy providers.
Castro said for years prior to Winter Storm Uri, Gov. Greg Abbott and his political allies had been warned about the danger of a failing grid, since 90% of Texas relies on ERCOT. He added even today Republican leaders “refuse to fully fix it.”
“In the summer, the Texas grid is on the verge of failure it seems like a few times a week at least, if not every other day,” he said. “So connecting to the national grid is the safest, most reliable way to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes of three years ago.”
Castro alleged that Abbott runs the state’s energy market “like a boondoggle and a fiefdom,” making sure his supporters are put into positions of power to manage the state’s energy systems despite their lack of experience.
“This legislation will make sure that we go in a different direction, a more positive direction for the people of Texas, and I’m proud to support it,” he said.
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