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2.22.21 Capitol Action Report

LWV Texas | Published on 2/22/2021


Capitol Action Report
February 22, 2021 - News, Updates & Action



Learn more about Texas Public Input Hearingshere.

Learn how to write testimonyhere. See videohere.
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The Big Freeze!
Janet Imhoff, Vice President Advocacy

The week of February 15 was a shocker for Texans all over the state.Due to high demand and reduced supply, The Energy Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) network began rolling blackouts across the state that began early Monday morning and continued for three days.By Wednesday Governor Abbott had added an emergency item to his priorities to “reform ERCOT,” and two House committees announced a joint hearing to “consider the factors that led to statewide electrical blackouts, the response by industry, suppliers, and grid operators, and changes necessary to avoid future power interruptions.”The hearing is set for Feb. 25, 9 AM, and can be viewed live athttps://house.texas.gov/video-audio/

Interestingly the Senate Business and Commerce Committee will meet on the same day and time to hear invited testimony on the same topics: review generator preparedness and performance, utility outage practices, natural gas supply, reliability of renewable generation, and overall ERCOT system resilience.Use this link to see a live broadcast:https://senate.texas.gov/av-live.php

Why did this happen?Our energy suppliers were not prepared for extreme winter conditions, even though climate science says that all weather events will become more extreme. Several energy plants go offline in the winter and/or are not “winterized” with insulated pipes, heated wind propellers, etc.It is NOT the fault of relying on renewable energy sources! Wind only contributes 7% to the grid’s total winter capacity, whereas 80% is generated from natural gas, coal, and some nuclear.Texas Tribune: Texas Leaders Failed to Heed Warnings.

Your Texas League Takes Action:
  • Based on ourClimate ChangeandEnergypositions, President Grace Chimene wrote thisstatementwhich was posted on our website and released to the media.
  • We will submit written testimony to the joint hearing through the House portal.
  • We posted a newAction Alerton our Take Action! Webpage.

What you can do:
  • Take Action on theAction Alert!
  • Let your legislators know that you want them to act to develop energy policies that include a plan for climate change.
  • Watch the joint hearing of House State Affairs and Energy Resources (see link above) to learn the facts from the experts on what happened and what changes are needed.
  • Please send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper through the Media link in our Take Action webpage.Use the information in the “Learn More” link in the Action Alert.
  • Tweet out the Action Alert message or post it on Facebook!
  • Remember: We need to promote a resilient infrastructure, renewable energy sources so we have a balance and are not so dependent on one source, energy conservation, and air pollution controls.
Texas Leagues in the News!

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