Since 2002, Texas has had a laissez faire “energy-only” market designed to prioritize price competition. But Thursday’s bills and the ongoing effort by state regulators to redesign Texas’ electricity market could fundamentally change how electricity is bought, sold and produced in Texas.
The effort comes in response to the deadly 2021 winter storm that killed more than 200 Texans, plunged nearly half the state into darkness and exposed major weaknesses in the state’s power grid infrastructure. The bills threaten to derail a two-year effort by Texas’ energy regulators to redesign the state’s electricity market. SB 6 put forward a market construct favored by the oil and gas lobby as well as manufacturing industry groups.
The idea was to create a backup supply of quick-fire power plants that can turn on at a moment’s notice when power reserves dip.
Texans, we are being taken to the cleaners by these Republicans. If they can’t develop both natural gas and renewables, they are totally ignoring their responsibilities and are slaves to those fossil fuel companies.