Texas Power Plants Not Generating Enough Electricity
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Is it time for Texas to abandon its power grid system? That's one option being tossed around in Austin, at a State Affairs Committee hearing.
Aging plants and new federal regulations could mean the grid system will have less extra electricity than it did last summer. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) even did 'rolling' power outages during the winter of 2011.
To help prevent blackouts, Texas Coalition For Affordable Power attorney Geoffrey Gay said Texas should consider endin its self-run, self-contained grid system.
"It's time to start talking to the federal regulators about how we can participate in a national grid.
Last year, ERCOT took a close look at the next 10 years of power generation and released a report that showed reserves would begin falling below the minimum target this summer.
ERCOT CEO Tripp Doggett said reserve power in Texas would be maxed out in 2013, increasing the likelihood of frequent rolling blackouts.
As it stands, the deregulated Texas electricity market isn't generating enough new capacity to meet state needs.
During the committee hearing lawmakers and experts also trying to find ways to encourage the construction of new power plants.
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