Texas
Texas Freeze: ERCOT can do better than counting on failure-prone Gas
Frozen Pipelines covered in Ice and Snow power outage during Winter Storm Uri caused by natural gas … [+]
getty
Texas, along with most of the country, is about to get hit with an Arctic blast that will plunge temperatures to extreme lows. But the all-too-recent memory of Winter Storm Uri in February 2021 causing rolling blackouts, hundreds of deaths, and billions in unexpected utility bills leaves Texans more worried than the rest of the country about their power staying on next week.
Unfortunately, their worries are real despite Governor Abbott’s insistence that all will be fine. Almost three years after that traumatic event, Texas’ state legislature and regulators have done little to insulate their constituents for the next big freeze beyond requiring weatherization inspections, a woefully insufficient measure.
Instead, Texas policymakers used the tragedy to subsidize expensive and unreliable fossil fuels. The state legislature’s main response to Uri was authorizing billions in state money to double down on the main cause of its last disaster: natural gas power plants.
Gas plants are “disproportionately vulnerable to failure”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric
AEP
Gas
GAS
Fortunately, the market forces that Texas Republicans tried hard to suppress are too strong, and ended up saving ERCOT during last summer’s extreme heat waves, when the state was hotter than 99% of the Earth’s surface.
Because of the free market orientation of Texas’ electricity system, it produces more electricity from renewables than any other state and is second only to California when it comes to grid scale battery capacity. And as I outlined in an earlier article, these clean resources kept the grid float and Texans cool in unbearable heat.
These same renewables and batteries will make a meaningful difference next week. During the worst of the upcoming freeze wind power is expected to produce at least 10 GW on the coldest mornings, with solar adding at least 7 GW mid-day along with 3 GW of batteries that can ensure clean power can meet atleast a fifth of ERCOT’s forecasted peak demand of 80 GW.
Renewables and batteries aren’t a silver bullet
However, renewables and batteries are not a magical replacement for unreliable natural gas plants. Other extremely cost-effective measures can prepare the Texas grid to weather future big freezes, as noted by Energy Innovation researchers in the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri.
The first is energy efficiency. Texas, and much of the south, has poorly insulated houses that rely on inefficient electric resistance heaters. Fortunately, technological advancements and policy delivered through the Inflation Reduction Act point to a better way. Replacing these resistance heaters with heat pumps that are often three times as efficient can cut consumer electricity bills using a federal tax credit to offset much of the upfront cost.
(From the Big Freeze Report: ERCOT slide showing cold weather impacts on electricity consumption by … [+]
ERCOT
Texas energy expert Doug Lewin estimates inefficient resistance heaters in poorly insulated homes contributed 30-40 GW of demand during Uri’s worst conditions, accounting for 45-55% of the total load and thereby precipitating the grid collapse.
The Texas Public Utility Commission has been authorized by the state legislature to develop rules to increase residential energy efficiency, but the agency hasn’t even started the process more than seven months after the bill was signed by the Governor. Texas has a golden opportunity to pass strong energy efficiency standards that could result in a heat pump boom in the state aided by Inflation Reduction Act tax credits.
The second is ending the Texas grid’s isolation by connecting it with the rest of the country. A geographically larger grid is a more reliable grid – make the grid larger than the storm, as they say.
It makes intuitive sense – the nearby Southeast and Southwest experience different weather patterns and temperatures, with different impacts on renewable and fossil power plants’ reliability. And it would have dramatically reduced the astronomical power price spikes that hit customers during Uri. A recent report by Grid Strategies found that if the Texas grid had been connected to adjacent regions during Uri it would have yielded savings “approaching $1 billion for 1 GW of additional ties between ERCOT and the Southeast, and over $100 million for most of the other [nearby regions]”.
Even outside of extreme events, connecting Texas’ ERCOT grid to the rest of the country can save consumers lots of money. A recent study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found some of the most valuable opportunities for interregional transmission lie in exchanges between Texas and surrounding regions.
LBNL study showing that Texas will benefit the most from grid interconnection
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
What comes after this storm?
With another big freeze bearing down on Texas, it’s hard to witness the understandable angst that Texans feel about whether their grid will hold up. What makes it worse is that we’ve known for years how to make the grid more resilient against extreme weather.
I hope that blackouts, sky high bills, and unnecessary suffering never happen during extreme weather events. But what comes after the storm is where hope becomes reality. For a reliable grid, Texas policymakers just need to take common sense actions.
COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M athletics plans to trim its department budget by almost $10 million as a result of the recent House v. NCAA settlement, which requires universities to pay their student-athletes.
Trev Alberts, A&M’s athletic director, told reporters Monday about the department’s plan to increase scholarships, reduce spending and staff, and create a new position to deal with the ramifications of the settlement, which calls for student-athletes to be paid by their schools.
Student-athletes were previously able to sign endorsement deals or make salary demands from third parties under loosened name, image and likeness rules. Alberts said he was “really excited about having a hard cap” and excited about work on NIL Go, a clearinghouse that will review NIL deals.
“This (settlement and resulting committee) has to work for the future of college athletics,” Alberts said. “It’s worth saying, you know, an unregulated market that we’ve lived in the last three to four years is not in the best interest of anybody, including the student-athletes.”
A&M’s plan is not finalized, with some savings and cut estimates still being calculated, according to a fact sheet provided by Alberts. The settlement — a result of a 2020 class-action lawsuit against the NCAA — approved by a federal judge earlier this month says that each university must pay athletes $20.5 million out of their revenue-sharing agreements. The decision took over a year to be finalized after the NCAA agreed last May to settle the suit. Texas A&M trimmed several athletics positions in April 2024, just before the NCAA bowed out of its legal fight against revenue sharing.
“I knew that this (settlement) was coming,” he said, “but, you know, I think any time you have a transition, (staff changes are) kind of normal in a sense.”
How Texas A&M is finding the money to pay its players
Alberts, 54, said he felt the department was “a little heavy” in its executive staffing. Hecame to A&M in March 2024 after serving two-plus years as the AD at Nebraska, where he was an All-American linebacker in the 1990s.
The total of the cuts, along with projected revenue increases, will provide an additional $26.5 million in “financial resources,” the fact sheet states. Texas A&M athletics in fiscal year 2024 made $266.4 million in operating revenues and spent a total of $243.7 million, according to public records obtained by kbtx.com in College Station. Most of that $22.7 million in profit was due to football, which raked in more than $118 million compared to $90 million in expenses. That includes over $27 million being paid to former coach Jimbo Fisher, per KBTX.
Football is A&M’s only revenue-creating sport, Alberts said, but revenue-sharing will be spread among six Aggies programs: football, baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, softball and volleyball.
“We’re going to have (a) best-in-class, fair-market value, NIL strategy,” Alberts said. “It’s where I think Texas A&M has a great strategic advantage… bringing all of our combined assets together to create the best fair-market value NIL strategy for all of our student athletes, (that) should be a separator for us.
“How do we leverage the largest living alumni in the SEC?…”
The changes following the settlement are already being felt, said Alberts, who spent over an hour Monday on campus, discussing the future of the school and college athletics as a whole with local media members.
The university’s cuts will come from about $1 million in decreased expenses tied to the number of student-athletes; more than $2 million in cuts for sports teams (roughly 2-8% budget reduction); nearly $4 million, or more, in cuts to department administrative staff, department support and team support staff; and moving away from the $1.8 million provided in Alston Awards, which are four-figure annual funds student-athletes can use for academic-related expenses.
The fact sheet shows a yet-to-be-determined “line-item reduction” in disbursements to the 12th Man Foundation, which funds “scholarships, programs and facilities” in support of A&M athletics. Analysis is also pending on “admin operational savings,” which are budget cuts for support staff.
The department is planning on revenue from $5 million in additional disbursements by the 12th Man Foundation; a new multimedia rights agreement that is expected to bring in $12.5 million; and a potential ninth football conference game. A yet-to-be-determined amount is expected from SEC and College Football Playoff revenue distribution, too.
“… You first put as the North Star: ‘What is in the best long-term interest of Texas A&M and Texas A&M athletics?’ Period,” Alberts said. “This is not ‘What’s in the best interest of Trev Alberts or any other individual or organization.’ It has to be, ‘This is about Texas A&M.’”
The sheet also says the moves will provide sports programs with more autonomy, among other things, and the staffing cuts will make the department more sustainable.
Alberts was on the job for a little over a month when Texas A&M cut 18 student and professional positions last year.
More scholarships for several sports
SEC schools elected to increase scholarships at each school and decrease the money pooled for players, Alberts said Monday. He said because of the vote, the SEC is the only Power Four conference to reduce the $20.5 million cap to $18 million for its member schools.
Texas A&M entered the 2024 athletic calendar with 255 scholarships, and after the court’s ruling, the Aggies will go forward in the 2025-26 school year with 410, an increase of 155 from the previous season.
MORE: Texas A&M football: 3 true freshmen who could contribute on Day 1
Football’s roster sizes will jump to 105 from the original 85 limit, while baseball’s scholarship allocation will more than double to 34 from its previous 11.7 model. Softball, ranked the No. 1 team in the country at time this season, will increase from 12 to 25, and volleyball, which just reeled in one of the top recruits in the nation, from 12 to 18.
Part of that plan is adding a staff member to help coordinate and facilitate expansion into the new NIL space.
“We’re not ready to announce a name, but we are hiring a new position. That’ll be an associate athletic director reporting directly to me that is an attorney, and it’s basically, ‘What is our strategy on how do we leverage every one of our assets?’” Alberts said.
Although men’s outdoor track and field shared a national championship, the Aggies largely struggled as a department in 2024. Football finished the year 8-5 following a 7-1 start; baseball missed the playoffs as a consensus preseason No. 1 and softball and basketball had early exits in their respective postseasons.
Despite a rough first year, results-wise, at the helm, Alberts said all the change favors A&M. The school has one of the largest alumni bases in the country and has thrown millions behind NIL and recruiting efforts the past several years. It’s paid off with top 10 football recruiting classes, including the No. 2 class in the country for 2026.
“I believe this is Texas A&M’s time. This whole situation in college athletics, this is our time to separate and go, and I know I’ve had people say, ‘We’ve heard that a lot,’ but I believe that,” Alberts said. “I believe that, because this is one of the few places in the country that can actually adjust and adapt to this reality in a way that’s better than most. And that’s why I’m here, to be honest with you.”
Texas
Did Texas lawmakers do enough for children with disabilities? These child care advocates say no.
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LUFKIN — Texas lawmakers this year added $100 million to a scholarship fund to help families across the state pay for early child care, an extraordinary investment that may ease a waitlist to help thousands of children.
However, advocates say legislators fell short in creating more opportunities for the state’s youngest living with disabilities.
“Most families with children with disabilities are really struggling in one area, if not multiple,” said Bethany Edwards, director for research and evaluation at the Center for Transforming Lives, a North Texas nonprofit that helps single mothers. Edwards is also a parent of a child with disabilities.
“And there’s a lot that can happen from a policy standpoint to change these systems, but change seems to happen very slowly,” she said.
Expanding the state’s public preschool programs to children with disabilities and incentives for more and better training for child care workers were among the proposals that fell short this year. Texas lawmakers ended the legislative session June 2.
David Feigen, the director of early learning at Texans Care for Children, said early access to quality education programs can have long-term benefits for children with disabilities.
“When children enroll in early learning programs, their world really opens up,” Feigen said. “These early experiences are really critical for all children, but they’re really particularly critical for children with disabilities.”
Under current rules, children are eligible for preschool through a public school district if they come from low-income households, have limited English proficiency, have parents in the military, are homeless, in foster care or have a Star of Texas Award.
While that criterion captures many children with disabilities, it doesn’t account for them all. And adding a disabilities designation would create more opportunities for a group that often struggles to find adequate care, Feigen said.
Children with disabilities who learn alongside their typically-developing peers are often motivated to make bigger strides in their skill development, said Katrina Campbell, CEO of the Brighton Center in San Antonio. Her organization helps a broad spectrum of children with disabilities in myriad ways, including its own preschool program.
“It’s pivotal to have children with special needs in an inclusive setting, especially those really formative years,” Campbell said.
Access to early childhood education is invaluable for all families, but especially for those whose children need a little more support, Feigen said.
Lawmakers tried — and failed — to create more high-quality care options for children with disabilities beyond preschool. For example, House Bill 175 would have created new certificates for child care providers who enhance their offerings to care for children with disabilities. The Texas Workforce Commission already has some local training options for these providers.
If the bill had become law, supporters believe it would have created more spaces able to serve children with disabilities.
Federal law prohibits facilities from denying a child entrance to their programs if they are disabled. However, it costs more to care for children with disabilities because centers need to employ more and specialized staff. And if the facility can prove it is incapable of providing adequate care, it can ask the family to seek support elsewhere.
The expansion of the child care scholarships will help, advocates say. However, they are not the perfect solution.
A private pay family will pay $1,350 a month to attend the Brighton Center in San Antonio, Campbell said. The state only pays $850 a month for scholarships. This leaves the program with a $500 deficit per child per month, which adds up quickly.
The Brighton Center, as a nonprofit, does what it can through fundraising and other programs to close the funding gap. Most programs don’t have that option.
To help others in their region, the Brighton Center tries to teach other facility operators how to help children with disabilities so fewer children are asked to leave local programs. Campbell hopes those facilities will try to accommodate one or two children with disabilities, just to begin chipping away at the massive need.
One change lawmakers made that advocates hope will yield dividends is aligning a few of the agencies that manage the state’s child care efforts.
“Our state hasn’t been nimble enough to comprehensively address the challenges,” Feigen said. “And guidance can be inconsistent, the work to address nagging problems can be disjointed.”
House Bill 2310, which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, will require agency leaders from the Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission and Health and Human Services Commission to collaborate on early learning solutions for children with disabilities and delays. These leaders will work with providers, policy experts and families.
There have been efforts to bring agencies together in this way on other aspects of child care, and it has been effective, Feigen said. But there needs to be a concerted effort for children with disabilities.
Edwards is hopeful, but not optimistic that this bill will change anything for these families.
“It’s definitely not a bad thing, but it’s also just a plan to create a plan at this point,” Edwards said. “It won’t change the experience for parents or for families that are currently struggling and who are currently in the broken system.”
Disclosure: Texans Care for Children has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
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Tesla’s robotaxi service appears to have launched in Austin, offering invite-only rides to a small group of Tesla fans and influencers. But if the automaker wants to continue operating its driverless ride-hailing EVs, it may soon have to comply with new regulations that were signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday. The rules take effect on September 1.
InsideEVs reported on these policy changes last week. But now that they’ve been signed into law, they represent a new complication for Tesla’s robotaxi dreams.
As reported by Reuters, the law requires operators of Robotaxis to obtain a permit from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles before deploying them without human controllers. It also gives the state the authority to revoke the permits if the Robotaxis prove to be a danger to the public. Moreover, it requires them to submit information on how the companies will coordinate with the police and first responders in case of a crash or accident.
Get in touch.
If you experienced the Tesla Robotaxi in Austin, or work at Tesla and have a story to share, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out at tips@insideevs.com. We’re happy to chat securely and anonymously.
The bill was signed into law after Democratic lawmakers in Texas wrote a letter to Tesla last week, urging the company to disclose how it plans to comply with safety regulations. Starting September 1, the new rules will require autonomous vehicle operators to prove they follow state traffic laws, use onboard recording devices, meet federal safety standards and ensure vehicles can safely stop if the self-driving system fails. The vehicles must also be registered, titled and insured in Texas.
Tesla has said that the Robotaxis will usher in a new era of growth for the company, potentially lifting its valuation into the trillions of dollars. The automaker has also claimed that the Robotaxis are safer than human drivers, something that AI and autonomous vehicle scientists are skeptical of.
After a decade of delays and promises, some 10-20 self-driving Model Ys are now rolling in Austin with a safety driver on board driving in a geofenced area, with remote human controllers for backup. Tesla also issued a whole bunch of rules for the riders, saying that the service will only run between 6 a.m. and midnight and that it could be limited or unavailable in case of adverse weather.
There’s no indication yet if the service is open to the public. So far, it only seems limited to an invite-only list of Tesla’s most ardent fans and influencers, who generally tend to be more forgiving of any errors the Robotaxis might make.
Have a tip? Contact the author: suvrat.kothari@insideevs.com
Correction: The regulations were signed into law on Friday, not Thursday. We regret the error.
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