Editorial: Abbott and ERCOT should face facts: The grid isn't fixed

It’s been almost a year since Gov. Greg Abbott proclaimed that he and state lawmakers did “everything that needed to be done” to prevent electricity blackouts like the one that left hundreds of Texans dead and millions more shivering in the dark for days during a brutal freeze in 2021.

But as temperatures soared toward triple digits this month and the Texas grid manager twice resorted to urging conservation measures normally reserved for summer, Abbott’s boast appeared to be little more than hot air. The conservation warnings had some Texans bracing for the worst, and it's easy to understand why. The grid reform bill Abbott signed last year fell short of the structural overhaul many experts believe is needed to protect us.

Yes, Abbott and the legislature made modest improvements to the supply side of the grid -- mandating new rules to safeguard gas transmission in freezing weather, for example. But they failed to address the demand side by helping to make homes and businesses more energy efficient. Lawmakers also should have encouraged more use of distributed energy, such as generators and solar panels, that could help alleviate strain on our overburdened grid during times of peak demand.

Even as it issues conservation notices, the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas – or ERCOT – continues to assert that the grid is stable. Naturally, some Texans fear another catastrophe on the scale of the 2021 freeze, when we briefly risked losing electricity for months. They wonder if this problem will ever get fixed. Sadly, experts predict more pain unless politicians confront reality and tackle structural grid problems in earnest.

Read more: https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/2022/05/22/texas-power-grid-demands-transparency-real-reform/9835808002/