Gov. Greg Abbott tells electricity regulators to encourage building more power plants, penalize
Gov. Greg Abbott tells electricity regulators to encourage building more power plants, penalize renewable energy
by Mitchell Ferman, Texas Tribune
Two days before state lawmakers return to Austin for a special legislative session, Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday gave state electricity regulators marching orders to improve electric reliability.
In a letter to the Public Utility Commission, Abbott directed the three-person board of directors, who he appoints, to take action that would require renewable energy companies to pay for power when wind and solar arent able to provide it to the states main power grid, echoing a move state lawmakers rejected in May.
Abbott also told the PUC to incentivize companies to build and maintain nuclear, natural gas and coal power generation for the grid which failed spectacularly during a February winter storm, leaving millions of Texans without power or heat for days in below freezing temperatures.
Texas energy experts were skeptical that Abbotts orders would actually improve the reliability of the state grid, which operates mostly independently of the nations two other major grids.
Read more:
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/06/texas-electricity-grid-greg-abbott/