Electricity, Generation

Gov. Abbott, you aren’t done fixing the electrical grid

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Dallas Morning News

By Dallas Morning News Editorial

NRG Energy’s W.A. Parish Electric Generating Station in Thompsons, Texas, which operates natural gas and coal-fired units, is one of the largest power plants in the United States.

This editorial is part of a series published by The Dallas Morning News Opinion section to explore ideas and policies for strengthening electric reliability. Find the full series here: Keeping the Lights On.

On these mild days in April, when the breeze rustles the oak trees and budding crape myrtles of North Texas, it’s unpleasant to think about bad weather. During rare days when Texans can turn off the heater or air conditioning and open the windows, we’d rather not spoil it with dark memories of power outages.

Alas, the electrical grid is working fine today because Texans aren’t using much juice to cool their homes. But do not let the smell of honeysuckle lull you into thinking the grid is fixed.

Regulators patched up the grid for last winter, but they haven’t yet implemented changes to ensure power plants have the fuel they need to ensure reliability, or that power companies will build more reliable plants to handle the …

Generation

Could rooftop solar and electric vehicles help power the Texas electric grid? Regulators want to know

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kvue.com

Author: Erica Proffer

AUSTIN, Texas — The people in charge of regulating the Texas electricity grid want ideas on how the state system can utilize smaller, even personal, energy resources such as rooftop solar, batteries and electric vehicles.

The Public Utility Commission (PUC) will consider distributed energy resources (DERs) when laying out future plans.

“Distributed generation refers to a variety of technologies that generate electricity at or near where it will be used, such as solar panels and combined heat and power,” the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s website shows.

The PUC is …