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A Texas Utility Girds For Swift Growth And Extreme Weather

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A Texas Utility Girds For Swift Growth And Extreme Weather


It was once a normal query I requested utility executives: What retains you awake at night time? That at all times elicited a normal reply: cyberattack.

Asking the identical query now, I get a distinct reply. After I requested it of David Naylor, president and CEO of Rayburn Nation Electrical Cooperative, Inc., his reply, which is now a normal one, was, “The climate.”

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Rayburn is headquartered in Rockwall, northeast of Dallas. Its service space covers 16 counties, and it has been in a position to survive some extraordinary climate shocks.

The most important, after all, was Winter Storm Uri which devastated Texas on Feb. 13-17, 2021.

Uri’s Excessive Financial Worth

Whereas Rayburn weathered that extreme storm with out plunging its prospects into the darkish, it paid a excessive financial worth. Like different utilities in Texas, it racked up large debt for inflated gasoline costs throughout the emergency.

Rayburn, beneath Naylor, was the primary utility to monetize its debt: It issued a bond in order that the influence of the extraordinary fees could be borne by Rayburn prospects over a decade.

It was a daring, courageous transfer from a utility which has been in a position to be each forward-thinking in its planning and but conservative in its operations. The worldwide regulation agency Dentons suggested.

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The wild swings in climate have develop into a brand new and constant concern to utilities, Naylor advised me. This winter’s climate — with heavy precipitation in California and Arctic temperatures within the South — has challenged the trade in new and generally catastrophic methods.

Within the current Ice Storm Mara, tons of of 1000’s of Texans misplaced energy. However Rayburn survived with out main load shedding; a few of its members had small, restricted outages as strains have been cleared and repaired. In contrast, many residents of Austin, the state capital, served by the municipally owned Austin Electrical, have been with out electrical energy for 5 days.

Nobody is gloating. Extreme climate is a brand new actuality which is unpredictable and will be devastating.

Rayburn’s Naylor defined, “Our load, which is generally residential, is about 1,200 megawatts. A 1-degree temperature change can change that load by 25 megawatts. Throughout Ice Storm Elliot final December, we had a leap of 400 megawatts.”

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In all three winter storms, Rayburn was in a position to meet its load calls for. However the future is unknown.

Rayburn, which borders the Dallas metroplex, has been rising exponentially, as has a lot of Texas. Naylor mentioned the demand for brand new hookups and repair has been livid, resulting in load progress of between 8 and 10 % over the previous a number of years. “We’re anticipating progress of between 3 and 4 % going ahead,” he mentioned.

This comes at a time when nationwide coverage and native stress is aimed towards web zero emissions by 2050. Naylor mentioned “the engineer” in him says that this may’t be performed, however he’s hopeful that new know-how, and particularly enhancements in batteries, will come into play.

Notably, he’s hopeful that distributed power will play a giant half sooner or later, and his co-op has laid the groundwork for that. They’ve a posh rebate construction to encourage the usage of electrical energy in off-peak hours.

“Going ahead, we’re going to be companions with our prospects,” Naylor mentioned. That may require subtle communications and an interdependence.

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As electrical automobiles take over, they have to be thought-about as a capital addition to the utility system, as companions within the enterprise. In the identical manner that Uber
UBER
has transferred the capital value to the automobile proprietor, utilities will likely be transferring a part of the storage value to the EV-owning buyer.

Utilities’ Development Predicament

Within the progress predicament, this future shock, Naylor and Rayburn are in the identical place as different utilities, huge and small: load rising and stress on fossil fuels rising.

Nonetheless Naylor is negotiating for extra pure gasoline possession and, like different utilities, he sees gasoline because the bridge, the dispatchable gas it doesn’t matter what.

Regardless of its place because the fossil gas capital of america, Naylor famous that Texas has extra put in renewable capability than some other state and is forging forward not solely with new wind and photo voltaic, but additionally with gasoline.

For Rayburn, photo voltaic has been the popular renewable possibility. “With a largely residential load, photo voltaic suits the form of our load,” Naylor advised me.

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He mentioned Winter Storm Uri — the largest climate occasion so far — was a wake-up name for Texans. This led to many installations which may have a task in a distributed technology, from energy partitions to dwelling turbines to extra rooftop photo voltaic. As well as the Texas grid, operated by ERCOT, is present process a redesign, Naylor mentioned.

These additions imply extra distributed technology sources, extra of the burgeoning utility future so totally different from the previous.

He additionally mentioned information will play an even bigger function in the way forward for Rayburn and different utilities. “We’ve at all times had it, however we didn’t know what to do with it,” he mentioned. Now with detailed evaluation, information turns into a useful resource, and is a big assist in managing the load and in planning. For Rayburn, Naylor mentioned, information is a brand new useful resource and could be very promising.

The one factor which Naylor and different utility chiefs can’t anticipate with accuracy is the climate. However Rayburn, Naylor advised me, is as ready as it may be, and has averted main outages up up to now within the time of what quantities to the “new climate.”



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Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M

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Former Colorado defensive end Dayon Hayes transfers to Texas A&M


Former Colorado Buffaloes defensive end Dayon Hayes is set to continue his collegiate career at Texas A&M after transferring following a season-ending injury. Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound defender, began his journey at Pitt, where he played from 2020 to 2023, accumulating 13 sacks and 80 tackles over four seasons.

At Pitt, Hayes showcased his potential in his sophomore and junior years, logging around 500 combined snaps and producing 30 pressures. His breakout came in 2023 when he amassed 44 pressures and a 13% pass rush win rate, ranking 12th in the ACC. Hayes also demonstrated solid run defense, posting an average tackle depth of 1.6 yards and recording 10.5 stops for loss. His ability to set the edge and prevent runners from escaping outside made him a critical piece of Pitt’s defense.

Following his success at Pitt, Hayes transferred to Colorado as a highly sought-after addition to Deion Sanders’ revamped Buffaloes roster. He made an immediate impact, registering two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss in Colorado’s first three games. However, his promising start was cut short by a knee injury in the fourth game, sidelining him for the rest of the season.

Deion Sanders says he won’t attend the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay

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Despite the setback, Hayes’ strong early performance likely earned him a medical redshirt, granting him another year of eligibility. With his final collegiate season on the horizon, Hayes opted to join Texas A&M, bringing his pass-rushing skills to the SEC. The Aggies, coming off an eight-win season, are set to face USC in the Las Vegas Bowl. Hayes’ ability to pressure quarterbacks and defend the run should bolster Texas A&M’s defensive front, adding experience and depth to their edge rotation for the 2024 season.



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D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas

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D-FW can claim Texas’ best high school football team in an otherwise down year for Dallas


ARLINGTON — North Crowley showed out on Saturday in its dazzling 50-21 victory over Austin Westlake in the 6A Division I state title game, winning the program’s second state championship and putting Fort Worth high school football on the map in front of 36,120 fans at AT&T Stadium.

Until North Crowley took the field at 7:30 p.m., there was a possibility the Dallas-Fort Worth area might boast only one state champion in 2024. Celina routed Kilgore 55-21 in the 4A Division I state championship to capture the program’s ninth state title and its first under coach Bill Elliott.

But North Texas teams came up short in the next three title games, the region’s worst showing at state since 2021, when South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD school to win a recognized state championship since 1958, but Denton Guyer and Duncanville fell in the 6A state championship games.

Two-time state champion South Oak Cliff missed a last-second field goal, falling 38-35 to third-year program Richmond Randle in the 5A Division II state title game Friday night. It was SOC’s second straight loss in the state championship game.

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“The future is still bright,” South Oak Cliff coach Jason Todd said. “We just gotta find out what’s going to get us over this hump.”

Texas high school football central: 2024 state championship game stories, photos and more

Smithson Valley, from the San Antonio area, topped Highland Park 32-20 as the six-time state champion faded in the second half of the 5A Division I state title game Saturday afternoon.

In the second game of the day, eight-time state champion Southlake Carroll extended its title drought to 13 years with a 24-17 loss to Austin Vandegrift in the 6A Division II game.

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“It’ll happen one day. I’m excited about what the future holds,” said Carroll coach Riley Dodge, who fell to 0-2 in state title games as a coach.

The Dallas area claimed three football state champions in 2023 with Anna winning the 4A Division I state title and Duncanville and DeSoto sweeping the 6A Division I and II state championships, respectively. The southern Dallas County schools also swept the 6A state championships in 2022, when South Oak Cliff won its second straight 5A Division II state title.

But this year, the rest of Texas didn’t let the Dallas area, a high school football mecca, run the table. Teams from each of the state’s major metros — Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio —- won a title in each division of the UIL’s two highest classifications.

Even before this week’s state championship games, 2024 seemed to mark a changing of the guard. Neither Duncanville, DeSoto nor Houston-area power Galena Park North Shore made it to AT&T Stadium this year. Nor did 12-time UIL state champion Aledo, the juggernaut west of Fort Worth that had won the last two 5A Division I state championships.

North Crowley, coach Ray Gates didn’t ‘duck any smoke’ in bold state championship season

But North Crowley did, after knocking off both DeSoto and Duncanville this season. North Texas might not have dominated the competition as it has in recent years, but for a third straight season, the king of 6A reigns in Dallas-Fort Worth.

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“When you get to this point, there’s only one team that’s standing that’s hoisting the trophy. And fortunately for us, this year it’s us and we just happen to be from 817,” North Crowley coach Ray Gates said. “We’re elated to be able to bring that type of recognition back to our community, just to let people know that when you talk about this area, when you talk about Metroplex football, you can’t forget about us.”

On Twitter/X: @t_myah

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Saving Hope Rescue receives $1,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving

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Saving Hope Rescue receives ,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving


Saving Hope Rescue receives $1,000 donation as part of CBS News Texas 11 Days of Giving – CBS Texas

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As the season of giving is underway, CBS News Texas has teamed up with Tom Thumb and Albertsons to highlight nonprofits making a difference in their communities year-round, while offering a $1,000 donation. Among them is Saving Hope Rescue, an organization passionate about giving North Texas animals a second chance.

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