The seven bills, filed by Republicans and Democrats, emerged from hours-long legislative hearings into the power outages in late February, when lawmakers questioned regulatory leaders, energy industry executives and other stakeholders about the crisis.
The proposals represent the first phase of the chamber s response to the power outages, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said. They address weatherizing energy infrastructure and improving coordination between state agencies during a disaster, among other issues.
But the bills do not dictate who will pay for weatherproofing at power plants and they do not make sweeping changes to the state s deregulated energy market. I am proud the Texas House is leading the charge in protecting consumers, fortifying our grid, and creating clear lines of communication and authority during extreme weather events, Phelan said in a statement. We must take accountability, close critical gaps in our system, and prevent these breakdowns fr
These are the bills the Texas House is prioritizing to target ERCOT and better prepare for future storms Madlin Mekelburg, Austin American-Statesman
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The seven bills, filed by Republicans and Democrats, emerged from hours-long legislative hearings into the power outages in late February, when lawmakers questioned regulatory leaders, energy industry executives and other stakeholders about the crisis.
The proposals represent the first phase of the chamber s response to the power outages, House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said. They address weatherizing energy infrastructure and improving coordination between state agencies during a disaster, among other issues.
But the bills do not dictate who will pay for weatherproofing at power plants and they do not make sweeping changes to the state s deregulated energy market.
HB 10 - Reforming Energy Reliability Council of Texas Leadership (Paddie, C.)
HB 10 restructures the ERCOT board, replacing the unaffiliated members with members appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House. HB 10 also requires all board members to reside in the state of Texas and creates an additional ERCOT board member slot to represent consumer interests. Read more on this bill at capitol.texas.gov.
HB 11 - Protecting Consumers and Hardening Facilities for Extreme Weather (Paddie, C.)
HB 11 requires electric transmission and generation facilities in this state to be weatherized against the spectrum of extreme weather Texas may face. Utilities will be required to reconnect service as soon as possible and prevent slower reconnections for low-income areas, rural Texas, and small communities. Read more on this bill at capitol.texas.gov.