Texas fixed electricity problems quickly because we are not connected to the national grid | Opinion
Sen. Kelly Hancock: By the time the federal government released its assessment of the freeze, Texas already had a new slate of regulations to address the problems.
The 87th Texas Legislature was in session during the storm and immediately began a series of investigative hearings into the failures that occurred across the electric supply chain, leaving many people asking what I believe will prove one of the most critical economic policy questions of our time: Should we fix the Texas grid — both infrastructure and market structure — or just join another?
Of course, the long-term economic importance of an independent grid in no way minimized the devastating real-life impact of the 2021 storm or the massive problems exposed by the storm that needed real solutions. And precisely because we maintain our own grid and could take swift action, those solutions came pouring in.
Next, we cleaned house at both the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Public Utility Commission with institutional restructuring and leadership changes. For instance, in Senate Bill 2, which I authored, we eliminated affiliated industry seats on the ERCOT board — no more fox guarding the hen house — and required that board members be Texas residents so that they are closer personally to the impact of the decisions they make.
This financial fix ultimately prevented our electric market and the Texas economy at large from catastrophic collapse while also saving consumers tens of millions of dollars over the life of the loans. But as we forge ahead with continued improvements, the people of Texas deserve a moment of fact-based reflection.
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