Abbott signs weatherization measures into law to 'improve the reliability of the state's power grid'

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a pair of ERCOT-related bills to improve the state’s main grid operator and modify the agency’s operation governing abilities power grid following February’s winter storm.

"Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the power grid in Texas,” Abbott tweeted. “Today, I signed bills into law to reform ERCOT, weatherize and improve the reliability of the state's power grid. Thanks, @KHancock4TX, @DrSchwertner and @chrispaddie for your leadership on these issues." 

Senate Bill 2 will serve as a policy changer in terms of ERCOT’s “governance of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Office of Public Utility Counsel and an independent organization certified to manage a power region,” shrinking the size of the establishment’s board of directors from 16 to 11, nine of which will be voting members. The group is set to be chosen by a selection committee alongside an external consulting firm.

Senate Bill 3 relates "to preparing for, preventing and responding to weather emergencies and power outages, increasing the amount of administrative and civil penalties.” The purpose of the bill is to enforce power generator and transmission line maintenance. Failure to perform regular inspections on behalf of the Texas Railroad Commission and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas may result in a fine of up to $1 million.

Other weatherization methods that must be done by the agency, tasked with overseeing the state’s main power grid while the railroad commissions regulate the oil and gas markets, include emergency alert distributions.

According to the Texas Tribune, the legislation addresses mishaps that occur amid extreme weather and establishes initiatives to offer direct support to residents affected by severe storms. It will also seek to stabilize the energy market with a $6.5 billion ratepayer-back bond, projected to raise the cost of energy bills across the state. Massive power outages caused by February’s unprecedented winter event, which killed more than 150 people and leftover 4.8 million households and businesses without power for days, triggered calls for action.

Natural gas fuel will face less pressure as a result of the bills as they are only required to follow the guidelines if regulators deem a particular scenario “critical” enough. Texas will likely enforce its weatherization policies next year, if not later.

“We found in our conversations, in our hearings, that there began to be some conflicts of interest,” Sen. Kelly Hancock said. “So we blew it up. It’s a completely independent board now who’s 100% focused, whose entire goal is making sure that ERCOT stays strong, reliable, stable and affordable.”