U.S. Rep. Greg Casar files bill to connect Texas grid to rest of the country

A winter storm in February 2021 led to a breakdown of Texas' electric grid. Millions lost power and hundreds died.Unlike any other power grid in the continental U.S., the energy system that serves 90% of Texans cannot share much electricity with neighboring grids. That means when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas cannot meet demand, there is no way to import enough power to make up the difference.

Casar’s Connect the Grid Act would mandate that ERCOT coordinate with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the grid-operating organizations along the state's borders — the Southwest Power Pool, MISO and the Western Interconnection — to create high-voltage interconnections.It further specifies a range for the number of gigawatts the new connections must be capable of transferring between grids. It says, for example, “between 4.3 and 12.

Casar’s office lists several co-sponsors of the bill, including fellow Austinite Rep. Lloyd Doggett and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, both Democrats.The bill is the most recent in a growing number of proposals to increase transmission interconnections between grids nationwide. Experts say the development is necessary to transition the country to renewable energy to fight climate change.

But Texas politicians and industry have zealously guarded the state’s energy independence in the past, making interconnection with increased federal oversight a tricky political proposition.Texas’ lack of significant connections with neighboring power grids is on purpose. It was first instituted as an informal agreement between Texas electric utilities as a way of avoiding federal oversight.

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