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27 Pub. Int. L. Rep. 23 (2021-2022)
Examining the 2021 Texas Power Grid Crisis

handle is hein.journals/pilr27 and id is 27 raw text is: No. 1 * Fall 2021 Examining the 2021 Texas Power Grid Crisis Dean Jepsen INTRODUCTION In February 2021, Texas' entire power grid was nearly pushed to its break- ing point during an unusually frigid winter storm, Winter Storm Uri, resulting in deadly blackouts across the state. At the time of writing this article, investi- gations are still being conducted to determine exactly what went wrong and which entities (if any) are culpable for the calamitous power grid failure that occurred roughly nine months ago.1 The lack of coordination and preparation across overseers and utility companies exacerbated the crisis. There are some policy areas in desperate need of bolstering via laws and mandates by the Texas state government. This article will provide an overview of the Texas power grid, describe the extent of Winter Storm Uri's destruction, and discuss poten- tial underlying causes for the grid failure. This article will also assess whether emerging Texas legislation could mitigate the threat posed by a future sub-zero weather event. THE TEXAS ELECTRICITY GENERATION SYSTEM Texas' power grid is deregulated, meaning that various companies own the different generating stations, transmission lines, and distribution net- works-as opposed to one entity controlling all of those separate functions.2 The majority of electricity customers in Texas are able to choose from different retailers in an open market system.3 Grid operators, typically nonprofit agen- cies regulated by the state, oversee the price of energy and balance the supply and demand of electricity as it is generated and distributed.4 Power companies generate electricity and then sell that energy to retail electricity providers and distribution companies, who in turn send that power to customers.5 Texas grid operators answer primarily to a state agency called the Public Utility Commis- 1 Erin Douglas, Wind Power a Smaller Contributor to Texas Electricity Crisis than Initially Estimated, ERCOT Analysis Shows, TEX. TRIB. (Apr. 28, 2021), https://www.texastribune.org/ 2021/04/28/texas-power-outage-wind/. 2 Darla Cameron et al., How Texas'Power Grid Works, TEX. TRIB. (Feb. 25, 2021), https:// www.texastribune.org/2021/02/25/texas-power-grid-ercot-puc-greg-abbott/. 3 Id 4 Id 5 Id 23

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