Four Years After Uri, State Leaders Must Turn Focus to Curtailing Fast-Rising Energy Demand
Now in the third legislative session since Uri, cheaper, easier-to-implement demand-side strategies remain largely ignored
AUSTIN, Texas — Four years after Winter Storm Uri forced power outages across the state, Public Citizen warned Texas lawmakers against letting another legislative session pass without approving investments in affordable strategies to reduce demand instead of the costly “all gas, no brakes” approach favored by state leaders.
On Feb. 15, 2021, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), the state’s grid operator, started ordering outages across the state to save the grid from total collapse. As Texans’ demand for energy skyrocketed due to the historic cold, unprepared gas infrastructure froze, choking off supply to power plants running on methane gas.
“Four years after the costliest disaster in state history, Texans still get uneasy when they see a winter storm coming,” said Adrian Shelley, Texas director of Public Citizen. “You can’t blame them. State leaders remain focused on increasing methane-based generating capacity while doing little to curb rising demand. This all-gas, no-brakes approach is costly and will take years to come online. It’s time to invest in much cheaper options that can be deployed quickly, including energy efficiency and demand response. What was true in February 2021 remains true today: the cheapest – and most reliable – megawatt of electricity is the one you don’t use.”
This year, the Texas Legislature has multiple bills to consider to stabilize the grid by attacking rising demand. They include:
- HB 613 & HB 838 – interconnection by ERCOT to other power grids
- HB 842 – study to bury power lines
- HB 1199 – backup power for nursing homes
- SB 272 – cost recovery for enhancing service reliability for vulnerable customers
- Bills establishing a new energy efficiency target for Texas utilities
In the 2021 and 2023 legislative sessions, state leaders sought to increase generating capacity rather than curtail energy demand. This resulted most notably in the creation of the Texas Energy Fund (TEF), which offers grants and low-interest loans mainly for building methane gas-burning power plants. No TEF-funded project has broken ground; it will be years before a new power plant begins operations. In his State of the State Address earlier this month, Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on this strategy by asking the Legislature for additional TEF funding. What lawmakers should do is fund two other programs authorized by the TEF:
- Funding for backup power, which can include solar and storage.
- Funding for resilience generation outside ERCOT (not just gas plants).
The Legislature should also address unfair rate policies proliferating across the state. These policies discourage the adoption of rooftop solar, which is valuable and pairs well with customer-sited batteries. These resources avoid the need for expensive transmission.
Meanwhile, ERCOT warned last year that electricity demand would double by 2030.