States Electrical Grid

AUSTIN, Texas — Yesterday, October 1, 2021, despite the death of as many as 978 Texans, as much as $200 billion in damages, and weather predictions that warn this winter will be similar to the last one, the state’s electrical grid is in no better shape than when it failed back in February.

During the last regular state legislative session, Republican lawmakers authored and sponsored SB 3, which they said addressed the issues Texas had with its unique and highly unregulated electrical grid. In June, Gov. Abbott even said that "Everything that needed to be done was done to fix the grid."

Yet, whether intentional or not, the authors of the bill left in a loophole that doesn’t require natural gas companies to weatherize their systems until next year and even gives them the option to opt-out from the weatherization altogether — leaving Texans once again to fend for themselves due to poor governing and no leadership from the Texas GOP.

Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa issued the following statement:

"Gov. Abbott has made it clear that he would stop at nothing, including calling special session after the special session, to pass sweeping anti-voter legislation, take away women’s rights and block all efforts to allow residents to protect themselves against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Where are the governor’s priorities? Winter is around the corner and he has left millions of Texas in the same vulnerable predicament that they were almost eight months ago. Now the legislature is about to break for the last time before they reconvene in two years!"

"Only the governor can add items to the agenda. We call on Abbott to deal with this issue once and for all and to take a stand to protect our people. We cannot let him and the GOP get away with giving energy providers — and their campaign donors — loopholes when our very lives are on the line."