By Nataly Keomoungkhoun
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The contiguous United States’ electrical power grid is separated into three parts: Two make up the Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection, and their grids power both sides of the lower 48 states.
The third grid — called the Electric Reliability Council of Texas — is an electrical island that powers Texas, and it remains separate from the other two.
That’s why a reader asked Curious Texas: How did Texas wind up on its own electrical grid?
Texas has always operated on …