Electricity, Generation

Defenders: ERCOT releases information about unplanned electric outages

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KVUE.com

Author: Terri Gruca

AUSTIN, Texas — The KVUE Defenders have been looking into the power issues facing the state and we’ve got a new look at unplanned outages taking place this summer.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) asked people to reduce electricity use in June after 12,000 megawatts of power generation unexpectedly went offline – enough to power 2.4 million homes on a hot summer day.

ERCOT just released a list of those outages and, since the beginning of June, there have been 1,144 unplanned outages.

The Defenders broke them down by fuel type and found that the majority of them, 507, were …

Generation

Gov. Greg Abbott tells electricity regulators to encourage building more power plants, penalize renewable energy

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The Texas Tribune

by Mitchell Ferman

The governor did not include many specifics about how regulators should carry out his requests to improve the state’s main power grid.

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 aren’t able to provide it to the …