Just in time for the official arrival of winter, the Texas power grid is facing new questions about capacity and reliability. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recently scrapped a special procurement program to acquire extra power supply after there were no bidders. ERCOT says they have adequate supply for the winter and the procurement effort was just a way to gauge the electricity market, but critics aren't satisfied with that explanation. "I think this is another warning sign for Texas consumers to be ready for possible blackouts or brownouts," says Robert Bryce, author and energy expert. "ERCOT went out into the market and said we need more capacity, and no one responded...this is very troubling."
ERCOT's effort to procure extra power generation comes after the state has seen the closure of traditional power plants amidst the push for renewables like wind and solar. Bryce tells KTRH these closures were a huge mistake. "The state should be keeping all of its available coal plants open," he says. "We need to make sure we have viable long-term replacements for that capacity first, before any more coal plants are closed."
Even if ERCOT were able to secure added generation from within the state, it likely would not have made a difference this winter. "In the utility sector, the planning isn't just done months ahead, it's done years ahead," says Bryce. "And to expect that a bunch of new capacity would be able to be activated and put into the marketplace in a matter of weeks, just isn't realistic."
Like other energy experts, Bryce believes the Texas grid is out of balance due to an overreliance on unreliable sources like wind and solar. But it's not just the so-called renewables that have our grid out of whack. "What we also saw during Winter Storm Uri is that the state's electric grid is too dependent on natural gas alone," he tells KTRH. "So if we really want to get serious about our power needs, we need to get serious about nuclear energy in this state."