Good morning,

This edition of the Texas Minute might heat you up.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Wednesday, February 17, 2021
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• After years of inaction on, and even hostility toward, attempts to strengthen and secure Texas’ power grid, lawmakers might finally take action. Brandon Waltens has the details.
     
• State Sen. Bob Hall (R-Edgewoood) and State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (R-Arlington) have tried for several sessions to get attention to the shortcomings of Texas’ electric infrastructure. They were ignored while lawmakers instead pumped $19 billion into “green” energy subsidies.
      
• “Every time I author this bill, they push back on wanting to secure or protect the power grid and make it stronger,” Tinderholt told Texas Scorecard. “The power companies need to step up to the plate and participate in the bill.”
   
• FYI: The state’s power grid is managed by the Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), a semi-private non-profit entity overseen by the Legislature and the Public Utility Commission. The PUC’s members are appointed by the governor and approved by the Texas Senate.
   
• Will the governor and lawmakers push the blame solely onto ERCOT, or accept their measure of responsibility?
   
• As if in response... Gov. Greg Abbott – who earlier this month received accolades for his promotion of green energy subsidies – yesterday named investigating and reforming ERCOT a legislative priority. 

• I wonder if the trophy those “sustainable” energy people gave the governor is still being displayed in his office? Seems like for the $19 billion Texas taxpayers have been forced to spend on “green” energy subsidies we’d have more to show for it than a cheap trinket given to a politician...
     
• “If Texas were a public company, the CEO would be fired today.” – Former State Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving)

• In the latest edition of his podcast, Luke Macias explains how wealthy government-subsidized oligarchies have been exposed by the massive power outages.
   
• “Power companies, their lobbyists and their PAC’s have worked tirelessly to keep politicians on their side. Now that millions of Texans are without power and lives are literally being lost, the winds have shifted.” – Luke Macias

• Texans took to social media to voice their frustrations with what we now know is the state’s highly unreliable electric grid. Robert Montoya finds many are demanding answers and action from their elected officials.

• Count Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller among those unimpressed with Texas’ lack of electric preparedness. He is calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to make big changes and immediately hold people accountable. Iris Poole has the story.
   
• “We should never build another wind turbine in Texas. The experiment failed big time. Governor Abbott’s Public Utility Commission appointees need to be fired and more gas, coal, and oil infrastructure built.” – Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller

ONE CLICK SURVEY

Texas lawmakers will once again this year be asked to spend more money subsidizing wind turbines and other “green” energy programs. Should they?