The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, released what it is calling a “Roadmap to Improving Grid Reliability.” It comes amid angst over whether the governor and lawmakers did enough to improve the statewide electric grid during the regular legislative session.
The 60-point plan includes more conservation alerts, like the one issued in June as offline electric plants almost caused statewide blackouts. It also seeks to increase transmission capacity from South and West Texas while keeping the rest of the grid stable. There was similar legislation proposed in the last session, but it died in the House.
The ERCOT plan also will require generators and transmission line owners to provide a signed document twice a year with details of weatherization for summer and winter, in an effort to prevent another massive breakdown like the one during February’s storm.
ERCOT also says it has already completed 20 of the points, and says many of the next steps will have to be made by the Public Utility Commission.
Gov. Abbott has previously said the state had done all it could, and that regulators now have the tools to improve electric grid reliability.
