Madison, WI – Widespread power outages and skyrocketing customer bills due to a frigid February freeze in Texas are raising questions about the way the state regulates power providers.

We brought in a panel of experts to weigh in on questions about regulation, reliability, and what went wrong in Texas.

Our panel includes:

• John Carr, Vice President – Power Supply, Dairyland Power Cooperative
  
• Paul Griffin, Executive Director, Energy Fairness
• Kira Loehr, Partner, Perkins Coie

Listen to The Electric Wire, Episode 11, “Regulation, Reliability…and Texas” wherever you listen to podcasts, or on our You Tube channel, here: https://youtu.be/KLgkLcI_mp0 

We’ll address the following questions in this roundtable discussion:

• What is the role energy choice played in the Texas system outages?
• How can we prevent this type of massive, prolonged power outage from happening here?
• Are grid updates needed to prepare for more extreme weather events?
• Was any generation source the clear winner or loser coming out of this situation?

Links Referenced in Podcast

“The real problem in Texas: Deregulation,” Opinion Column by Paul Griffin, Utility Dive, February 24, 2021
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/the-real-problem-in-texas-deregulation/595564/

“Texas Energy Co-Op Files For Bankruptcy After Storm, High Bill,” NPR, March 1, 2021
https://www.npr.org/2021/03/01/972408584/texas-energy-co-op-files-for-bankruptcy-after-storm-high-bill

Other Relevant Reading

“Texas Electric Bills Were $28 Billion Higher Under Deregulation,” Wall Street Journal, Feb. 24, 2021
https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-electric-bills-were-28-billion-higher-under-deregulation-11614162780?mod=hp_lead_pos7

“Texas Overcharged $16 Billion for Power During Freeze, Monitor Says” Wall Street Journal, March 4, 2021
https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-overcharged-16-billion-for-power-during-freeze-monitor-says-11614894714

“The $16 Billion in Texas Power Overcharges? Monitor Says Only $3.2 Billion Can Be Undone,” Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2021
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-16-billion-in-texas-power-overcharges-market-monitor-now-pins-figure-at-3-billion-11615479832?page=1

“Texas PUC doubles down on refusal to reprice $16B market ‘error’ under pressure from leg, governor,” Utility Dive, March 12, 2021
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/texas-puc-doubles-down-on-refusal-to-reprice-16b-market-error-under-pres/596595/

Other Podcast Episodes Relating to this Topic

The Energy Gang Podcast: “The Texas Grid Failure,” Feb. 24, 2021
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-energy-gang/id663379413?i=1000510505053

Columbia Energy Exchange: “Making Sense of the Texas Energy Crisis,” Feb. 22, 2021
https://columbiaenergyexchange.libsyn.com/making-sense-of-the-texas-energy-crisis