By Nancy Vu
The first-ever federal bill that would connect Texas‘s energy systems to the national grid was introduced in the House on Wednesday.
Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced the legislation, the “Connect the Grid Act,” on the third anniversary of winter storm Uri — a snowstorm that created a power crisis in the Lone Star State in 2021 and killed at least 246 people. The legislation, introduced with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), is meant to address the shortfalls of Texas’s struggling energy grid, which has been strained due to low reserves and high demand during cold and hot weather.
“Whether you’re in the middle of a heat wave or a winter storm, every single American should be able to keep the lights on,” Casar said during a press conference on Wednesday. “If Texas is in trouble and we connect to the grid, we’ll make sure that Texas can draw power from other states.”
Texas is the only state in the country that is not connected to national grids — which means that if there’s a shortfall in supply, it is unable to grab power from neighboring states. In times of high demand, businesses and homes are forced to cut their own use of electricity to alleviate stress on the grid.
Casar’s bill would mandate interconnection between the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which oversees the state’s energy grid, and the grids of neighboring states. The bill would bring ERCOT under the purview of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, specify a gigawatt range for transfer capacity between grids, and require the Department of Energy to study the benefits of interconnection with Mexico.
Casar first announced that he would be working on federal legislation in August. During a press conference introducing the bill Wednesday, Casar and other Democrats chided officials and executives for their response to the storm — recalling an instance of an energy executive bragging about profiting from the winter storm and likening it to “hitting the jackpot.” The lawmakers also rebuked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) for boarding a trip to Mexico during the height of the storm.
The idea of connecting Texas’s grid was floated following the storm but was quickly met with criticism from mainly Republicans, who pushed back against the idea of federal interference in the state’s grid.
“Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business,” said former Texas Republican Gov. Rick Perry. “Try not to let whatever the crisis of the day is take your eye off of having a resilient grid that keeps America safe personally, economically, and strategically.”
A companion bill led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) was introduced in the upper chamber.
