Texas Got Early Warnings About Costly Grid Policy, Records Show
The state’s efforts to boost backup electricity supply increased wholesale prices by $12 billion in the second half of last year, according to a watchdog.
US and Texas flags next to electricity cables in Houston, Texas.
Photographer: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Texas grid officials received repeated warnings last summer that their efforts to shore up the state’s increasingly strained electric grid risked driving up power prices, records show.
Concerns first arose just days after the state launched a new policy meant to keep more backup electricity supply in reserve in case of emergencies, known as the Ercot Contingency Reserve Service, or ECRS. Complaints about ECRS soon reached Governor Greg Abbott’s office. “Yo - you getting hit on ECRS stuff?” an employee for the grid manager texted a member of Abbott’s staff, according to documents obtained via open records requests. “Oh for sure,” the Abbott staffer responded.