Repairing electricity infrastructure after storms usually costs customers. So could strengthening it before the next weather event.
It’s become a familiar cycle: A powerful storm sweeps through a swath of Texas and takes the electric system down in its grip. Trees might bend and topple, crashing down onto a power pole. Sometimes the weight of ice pulls branches onto electric lines. Other times wind makes a wire spark, and that ember ignites a destructive blaze.
Thousands of Texans then sit in the dark for days — in either the blistering heat or frigid cold — waiting for utility crews to survey and fix the damage so electricity can start flowing again.
Such power outages are likely to continue.
That’s because the massive network of equipment that moves electricity across the state and then to individual Texas homes and businesses is unprepared for the severe weather expected in years ahead, experts say. Making it more resilient will require utilities to invest money to strengthen the system over time.
Legislators have focused on power generation — not power lines and poles.
Texas is the only state to have its own power grid. It doesn’t have significant connections to the grids that serve the eastern and western halves of the United States. And it’s been the focus of Abbott and the Legislature since the 2021 winter storm pushed it to the brink of total failure.
But building power plants and changing the electricity market takes time, and the grid’s fragility remained clear as grid operators
last summer repeatedly asked people to use less power. On those days, it looked like power generators might not be able to keep up with surging demand for electricity that comes when people turn down their thermostats to fight sizzling outdoor temperatures.
Then came a bombshell this year when grid operators said power demand could
nearly double in six years. After that, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said they wanted to
add $5 billion more to that pot of money to get more gas-fueled plants built. [
see also]
A path forward
Last year, the Legislature
made it possible for utility companies to create plans to strengthen their systems. This is one potential way that — if state regulators approve it — utilities could start charging more to replace poles or trim more trees, for example. In many cases, those costs would be charged to power providers that sell power, which would then likely pass the costs to customers.
