Energy & Environment

More than a year and a half ago, the Texas power grid failed and left millions cold, hungry and in the dark for days during a powerful winter storm. The Texas Newsroom podcast “The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout” looks at what happened and how it affected people.

While wind farms in the region could help power and lower energy costs for at least 9 million homes, significant infrastructure upgrades would be needed to supply electricity from the region to other parts of the state.

Texas' electric grid operator has actions it can take to reduce energy demand and increase supply short of ordering power cuts.

The price hikes come as Texans grapple with high costs at the fuel pump and in grocery stores.

The high court said a cap on power plants’ carbon dioxide emissions that forces a transition to other fuels may be a “sensible” solution to the climate crisis, but that Congress did not give the Environmental Protection Agency the broad authority to make such requirements. Texas was one of 17 states that joined in the suit.

A report from the state Sunset Advisory Commission found that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality commissioners have become “reluctant” regulators and often encourage industry to “self-police.”

The heat will drive Texas energy use to new highs and test the resilience of the state’s electric grid ahead of what’s expected to be a scorching summer.

Texas grid operators say Friday's call for conservation shows the system is working as intended. Some independent analysts say the latest grid assessment downplays the likelihood of extreme scenarios.