Perspectives

Texans suffered greatly throughout the Valentine’s Day winter storm. The failure of the Texas power grid revealed many underlying issues which the Legislature must address. As a member of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, I heard testimony last week from the industry stakeholders involved in the failures that occurred during the storm. Some of the most consequential and repeatedly mentioned problems include a lack of oversight, a breakdown of communication, and major failure in coordination within and between Texas’ regulatory agencies. This Legislative Session, we will overhaul the state’s entire energy grid, addressing three major failures during the February storm - oversight, communication and coordination.