The Texas power grid is not secure, according to a campaign email sent to supporters Friday by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller.
The email began by harkening back to the February 2021 winter storm, when rolling blackouts left millions of people in the state without electricity.
ScienceDirect estimated that more than 10 million residents were without power during the freeze. After it was over, the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed 246 winter-storm-related deaths.
“Weather happens, but the real tragedy was a human failure… cozy relationships between regulators and industry, too much reliance on low capacity alternative energy, and profit seeking at the expense of safety and security such as winterizing natural gas infrastructure,” Miller’s email read.
“The chaos also had a significant effect on our state’s agriculture industry, just one of the many gut punches delivered to our ranchers and farmers over the past couple of years,” the email continued.
As the Texas agriculture commissioner, Miller’s job is to promote agriculture production, consumer protection, economic development, and healthy living.
Since the winter storm, the Texas Legislature has passed Senate Bill 3, which implemented new rules on utility companies and power facilities. The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) also issued new regulatory guidelines.
New guidelines mandated winterizing all natural gas, electric, and water lines in the state. Power companies are also now required to give the PUC reports on their “winter weather readiness.”
Along with this, the Texas PUC lowered the maximum wholesale electricity price. Instead of a $9,000 per megawatt-hour cap, the new limit is $5,000, a 45% decrease.
SB 3 passed in May 2020 and brought in several changes. Some changes include repairs of critical parts and the implementation of more thorough inspections, more accurate reports, monthly testing during the winter, and an emergency alert system to notify Texans when power demand may exceed supply, among other regulations.
Failure to comply with SB 3 will result in power companies being hit with a $1 million per day fine until they are back in compliance.
Miller said the reforms did not go far enough, citing the warnings the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has issued this summer advising Texans to reduce their energy consumption amid record-high temperatures.
“This summer has put the lie to the idea that we have made all of the reforms Texas needs,” Miller’s campaign email reads. “As temperatures have spiked regulators have repeatedly told us to turn off the lights, close the blinds, and keep our homes uncomfortably warm.”
“No. Just. No,” the email continued. “It is outrageous that in one of the most successful states, in the most successful country in the world, we can’t keep the lights on!
“It is essential that our governor, and the next legislature, go much further to fix our energy insecurity,” Miller added, “That is why I have repeatedly called for a special session to address the many areas where we are still falling short.”
Miller acknowledged that the reforms have had some positive impact, “or we would have already lost power in this summer heat.”
“But barely having enough juice is too close for comfort and unacceptable,” he added. “We deserve and require better.”
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office responded to Miller’s campaign email with a statement.
“Anyone who says the Texas electric grid is not secure is not aware of how well it’s performed under recent record-breaking weather we’ve experienced as a result of the reforms passed by the legislature and signed into law by Governor Abbott,” said the statement. “Texas has had record-setting temperatures this summer and record-setting demand on the power grid, and we have been able to meet that demand every time.”
“Since May, Texas has set and broken power demand records over 25 times without any system-wide issues or disruptions for the more than 26 million Texans served by the electric grid,” the statement continued.
“The ERCOT power grid has been able to meet those challenges and respond in record ways, providing more power than ever before and doing so more efficiently, in large part because of the reforms passed last session and the increase in power generation by more than 15% over last year,” the statement read.
“Governor Abbott continues working to ensure the substantial bipartisan reforms passed by the House and Senate last year are properly implemented so that the grid remains stable and reliable.”