Pending Bill - Weatherization of the Grid

Credit: John Gusky

What happened: As a result of the February freeze, nearly 200 Texans died and more than 4.8 million were without power. 

The players: ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas), Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas legislature, and the Texas public. 

Bills stuck in the legislature:

Senate Bill 3, considered “toothless” by many, would fine utilities $1,000 if they fail to meet standards set forth in the bill, but it would be cheaper for utilities to pay the fine than fix the line. This bill also allows for an amber-alert-like announcement to be broadcast when the power supply is inadequate to meet demand (aka a serious emergency), a simple, yet obvious necessity that should have been law years ago. 

House Bill 2000 would allocate $2 billion from the budget to help finance upgrades to power plants. Critics argue that giving public money to private companies is a recipe for disaster, especially since the oversight would be limited. Democratic amendments were shot down early and often. The changes would have added language to prevent companies from using the money to build new plants or to offer the money in loans instead of grants. This bill was sent to the Senate where it was promptly sent to the waste bin. 

Bills out of the legislature or nearly:

HB 16 made it through the bill-shredder gauntlet. Instead of addressing anything related to weatherization, however, this bill merely forbids electric plans with wholesale pricing for residents and small businesses. In other words, it doesn’t address the underlying problem. For example, a man dying of starvation orders a pizza, but a lawyer shows up instead to explain to him that if the dying man would like to enroll in a wholesale pizza subscription to save money, he must understand that the volatility and fluctuation of wholesale pizza pricing may cause his pizza bill to be multiple times higher in a month in which wholesale pizza prices are high. He must understand that he will be responsible for charges caused by fluctuations in wholesale pizza prices, and if he agrees, he can continue doing exactly what he was already doing: not eating pizza. 

HB 2586 also made it to the Governor’s desk, but like the previous bill, it doesn’t address the underlying problem. Essentially, the bill makes the pizza...err...electric company get audited annually. And that might sound at least mildly useful, but when you