Texas lawmakers want to connect state’s ERCOT power grid to rest of the country

We’re celebrating 12 years of the San Antonio Report! For more than a decade, we’ve provided San Antonio with reliable, local journalism without a paywall. This work relies on donations from readers like you.Democratic Texas lawmakers are pushing a new bill that would require the state’s grid operator to connect to the federal power grid.

Casar said that no member of Congress responded more quickly to the corporate price gouging that Texans faced in Winter Storm Uri than U.S. Rep. Joaquín Castro. ERCOT allowed wholesale electricity prices to soar during Winter Storm Uri, costing the municipally owned utility roughly $1 billion. While CPS Energy was able to combat some of those charges over a year of legal battles, it was still left on the hook to pay $418 million to other energy providers.

“In the summer, the Texas grid is on the verge of failure it seems like a few times a week at least, if not every other day,” he said. “So connecting to the national grid is the safest, most reliable way to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes of three years ago.”

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