The new report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says the state’s power grid is still vulnerable despite regulator efforts and assurances from lawmakers.
AUSTIN, Texas — A new report by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) indicated the Texas electric grid remains almost as vulnerable to extreme winter weather as it was back in February 2021, when the state went into a deep freeze for days.
According to a new report by KVUE’s news partners at the Austin American-Statesman, the federal document states that the Electric Reliability Council of Texas‘ (ERCOT) ability to handle similar extreme winter weather to that seen in February 2021 is only marginally better.
That’s despite more than a year of efforts by regulators and Gov. Greg Abbott saying the grid has been significantly improved.
The Public Utility Commission of Texas oversees ERCOT, which manages the state’s power grid, and said the federal report contained inaccuracies that have been pointed out to FERC, per the Statesman report. The updated FERC report drew the same conclusion, indicating a shortcoming in regard to extreme winter weather.
“Basically, what [the federal energy commission] is saying is if we get weather conditions like in February ’21, we would have close to a repeat of what happened,” Doug Lewin, president of the Austin-based energy consulting company Stoic Energy, told the Statesman.
The federal assessment indicated the Texas power grid will have more than enough generating capacity under typical weather conditions this winter, per the report.
Read the full report by the Austin American-Statesman here.
PEOPLE ARE ALSO READING: