(WBAP/KLIF) — An effort by two Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representative to force the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) to connect to other power grids across the nation has met resistance from ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas.
U.S. Representatives Greg Casar of Austin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York have filed a bill called the Connect the Grid Act in Washington, D.C. Vegas believes the move to bring the Texas power grid under the control of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is not well thought out and says there would be a significant cost to connect all of the nation’s electric grids.
He says the benefits may not justify the cost, while federal oversight would usurp local control. Proponents argue the bill would create more oversight of energy rates.
Meanwhile, at ERCOT’s Tuesday meeting the board reviewed the electric grid’s performance over the winter and implement new initiatives.
Vegas reflected on the grid’s overall performance during January’s winter storm Heather, which caused five all-time high winter peaks for power demand. ERCOT didn’t report any noteworthy power outages, mainly due to the fact that no significant precipitation was associated with the frigid cold temperatures.
The organization also implemented a few changes to the council’s website, adding two new grid conditions to the website dashboard meant to improve the dashboard system and thus enabling Texans to distinguish grid conditions and assess associated risks.
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