What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan (Texas Tribune)

What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan – By Emily Foxhall and Alex Ford (Texas Tribune) / Mar 1, 2023

The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans.

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The winter storm that hit Texas in February 2021 strained the state’s electricity grid so much that power had to be cut to millions of homes and businesses to prevent the grid’s complete failure. At least 200 people died, many from hypothermia and some from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Afterward, state legislators directed the Public Utility Commission, which regulates electricity in Texas, to make sure power generators prepared their infrastructure for extreme weather — those facilities have since been weatherized. They also instructed the PUC to find a way to keep lights on when wind and solar energy production lag.

To that end, in January, regulators proposed a major change to the way the electricity market works.

CONTINUE > https://www.texastribune.org/2023/03/01/texas-power-market-public-utility-commission-electricity-credits/