The Texas Legislature took only small steps this year to curb the state’s rising electricity demand, Public Citizen pointed out today, at the start of a six-day period in which Texas’ electric grid manager warns demand records could be broken again.
“Crossing fingers and hoping for the best won’t stabilize the grid, but that is essentially what the Legislature did when it left town without passing common-sense bills to curb electricity demand,” said Adrian Shelley, Texas director of Public Citizen. “Energy efficiency programs reduce demand, are cheaper than investing in new energy supply, and save consumers money. However, state leaders like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick instead focused on building expensive gas-fueled power plants that wouldn’t come online until at least 2028. The cheapest megawatt of electricity will always be the one you don’t use.”