Texas Shuns Radical Changes to Power Grid After Deadly Freeze
- Pending bills would winterize equipment, not overhaul market
- Critics warn the state remains susceptible to blackouts
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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After months of debate, Texas lawmakers are poised to pass a series of measures in response to February’s deadly blackouts. Yet those bills, critics say, do little to fix the fundamental issues that made the state’s power grid so vulnerable.
While the pending legislation will take steps including forcing electric plants and some pipelines to prepare better for the cold, the bills will do nothing to guarantee the state has enough generating capacity on hand at all times. Nor would they force Texas’s grid to connect to neighboring states so they could provide backup.