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 … [+]
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 … [+]
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
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.
Texas
Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
Texas
Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.
“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”
The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.
The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.
The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.
The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.
“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.
“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.
Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.
“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“
The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.
“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”
Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.
“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”
Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.
Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas
Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
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