Dangerous Heat Wave Will Test the Grid as Legislature Does Little To Curb Electricity Demand
Potentially historic May temperatures expected for much of Texas this week
AUSTIN, Texas — With little time left in its current regular session, the Texas Legislature has little to show for in reducing energy demand, even as a dangerous and potentially record-setting heat wave hits the state and tests the electric grid starting today.
Weather forecasts show temperatures will spike across much of Texas, with the potential of up to 112-degree heat in parts of the state – an unusually brutal heat wave for May. As with previous heat waves, the temperatures are likely to cause a surge in demand for electricity. Meanwhile, at the Texas Capitol, bills that would invest in programs that reduce the demand for electricity–energy efficiency and demand response, for example–have yet to gain traction.
“Lawmakers are playing with fire every time they waste the opportunity to slow the rise in electricity demand on the ERCOT electric grid,” Adrian Shelley, Texas director of Public Citizen, said. “Once the legislative session ends on June 2, lawmakers won’t be back for another 18 months. During that time, Texas will see summers and winters that will bring extreme and the potential for another Winter Storm Uri-level event. Each event will risk a grid collapse if nothing is done about runaway demand. The legislature has answers, but only if lawmakers are willing to use them.”
Of 11 energy efficiency bills supported by Public Citizen, only one – HB 3237 – appears close to passing after receiving approval in the House and awaiting a vote in the Senate. Most of the remaining bills have yet to be heard in a committee and are effectively dead.
Energy efficiency and demand-response programs are more affordable and easier to implement compared to other strategies embraced by state leaders. For example, the Texas Energy Fund (TEF), created following the 2023 legislative session, is a $5 billion program to finance new power plants that run on methane gas. To date, no TEF-approved power plant proposal has broken ground, putting the program years away from generating its first megawatt of electricity.