ERCOT CEO questions economics of connecting Texas grid to rest of the country

Two weeks after Democrats in Congress introduced a bill requiring the Texas power grid to connect to the national grids, CEO Pablo Vegas of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas said such discussions need to consider if more outside connections is the most economically worthwhile way to keep the lights on. “We’re not debating that there could be reliability or resiliency benefits by having interconnections. The question is, is it the best way to spend the dollars?” Vegas said Tuesday at ERCOT’s board of directors meeting. The alternative is to invest in additional in-state transmission lines that deliver electricity across long distances, as well as in other resources, he said.

ERCOT operates the power grid that delivers electricity across 90% of Texas; its job is to ensure supply and demand are always balanced. In February 2021, it initiated blackouts that left millions without power for days during freezing temperatures as it sought to prevent demand from overtaking supply, narrowly averting a total blackout that could have left parts of Texas in the dark for weeks. Texas is unique in largely having its own power grid with limited connections to the other large U.S. systems. That leaves the state with little ability to import power in times of scarcity on the grid. During the 2021 freeze, each additional gigawatt of transmission ties between ERCOT and the Southeastern U.S. could’ve saved nearly $1 billion while keeping the heat on for hundreds of thousands for Texans, according to a 2021 study by Grid Strategies, a consulting firm. Politicians and energy companies in Texas have long opposed more substantial connection to other grids for fear it would bring increased federal regulation. The newly proposed bill, introduced by Reps. Greg Casar, D-Austin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, seeks to bring the ERCOT grid under federal oversight. A direct current line that would connect ERCOT to grids in the Southeast is in the works, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas, which regulates ERCOT, is surveying the power industry on possibly building more.