San Antonio Standard

WASHINGTON – On August 31, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) announced he is actively drafting federal legislation to require Texas’s electrical grid, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), to connect to the national grids.

This announcement comes following requests for Texans to conserve energy nearly every day this past week from the Texas power grid operator to prevent energy blackouts during one of the hottest summers on record. 

“I am drafting federal legislation to connect Texas to the national electric grids,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “Whether we’re in the middle of a heat wave or a winter storm, Texas should be able to keep the lights on. This legislation will help consumers, improve the economy, generate more clean power, and save lives.”

About 90% of the state’s electricity is run solely through the Texas grid. Because millions of Texans are not interconnected to the national grids, they are susceptible to losing power in the extreme cold or extreme heat—when we need reliable energy the most. The remaining 10% – like El Paso in the West and Jasper in the East – are connected to other grids and did not suffer mass power outages during Winter Storm Uri in 2021. 

During Winter Storm Uri: 

• More than 10 million Texans lost power
• The state estimates 246 people died, though that number is likely greater
• Texas suffered $100 billion in economic damages
• There was an extreme need for electric transmission into the Texas grid. Each additional gigawatt of transmission tied between the Texas power grid and the Southeastern U.S. could have saved nearly $1 billion, while keeping the heat on for hundreds of thousands of Texans.

The state has long refused to connect its grid in an attempt to avoid federal standards and consumer protections. The U.S. Congress has the legal authority to require Texas to connect to the national grids to protect consumers, improve electric reliability nationwide, and safely regulate commerce.

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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio.  A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.

Original source can be found here.