Several billions of dollars in state-approved financing will be necessary to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market after the winter storm. Texas approves more in finance bailouts for its utilities than any other state.
The Texas House could take up its proposal to better prepare for extreme weather as soon as Sunday. The chambers have a little more than a week to wrap up remaining work.
Tuesday, May 25: How to build a better grid
In each instance, lawmakers left
the state’s lightly regulated energy markets alone, choosing cheap electricity over a more stable system. As a result, experts say, the power grid that Texans depend on to heat and cool their homes and run their businesses has become less and less reliable and more susceptible to weather-related emergencies.
“Everyone has been in denial,” said Alison Silverstein, a consultant who works with the U.S. Department of Energy and formerly served as a senior adviser at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. “They treat each individual extreme event as a one-off, a high-impact, low-frequency event, which means, ‘I hope it doesn’t happen again.’”
Crossroads Today
Report any flood damages to the Texas Division of Emergency Management
May 18, 2021 3:21 PM Sydnee Pennie
AUSTIN, Texas In response to severe flooding threats across Texas, Governor Greg Abbott today ordered the Texas State Operations Center (SOC) to expand its daily operations to 24-hours a day through Friday. Severe storms are expected to bring significant river flooding and flash flooding to the Coastal Bend as well as North, East, and South Central Texas beginning today through the end of the week.
“As severe weather continues to threaten communities across the state, Texans need to stay vigilant against significant flash flooding that is expected to accompany these storms,” said Governor Abbott. “We are deploying a variety of resources to assist communities in the path of these severe weather events, and I continue to urge Texans to remain cautious and preparing ahead of time for flash flooding. ”