Electricity Omnibus Bill, PUC and ERCOT Overhaul One Step Closer to Governor’s Desk
Legislation aimed at remedying the underlying causes of the February blackouts has been approved by both legislative chambers.
https://thetexan.news/electricity-omnibu...+-+RSS+Campaign
Brad Johnson

A sort of catch-all piece of legislation passed first muster in the Texas House on Sunday, setting the table for the legislature’s response to the February winter storm and electricity blackouts.

Senate Bill (SB) 3, authored by Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) and sponsored by Rep. Chris Paddie (R-Marshall), will likely serve as the legislature’s chief response to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ (ERCOT) winter storm fallout. The omnibus bill is lengthy and addresses a number of different areas.

The upshot includes an overhaul of ERCOT’s directives from the state, a mandate that the power industry weatherizes its infrastructure against severe cold temperatures, a more rigorous mapping of critical infrastructure, creation of a statewide alert system, and reinforcement of dispatchable backup power available during tight grid conditions.

Most of the bill’s provisions were included in the House’s piecemeal electricity priority list — of which most have already made it through both chambers — but being all-encompassing, it is likely SB 3 will be signed by Governor Greg Abbott in lieu of the rest.-- excerpt, rest at link above --