ELECTRIC UTILITY AND ERCOT NEWS
BIC Magazine: exas grid sees 233 GW in data center requests: How much is real?
March 4 — Grid planners are drowning in connection requests. More than 233 GW of large-load interconnection applications now sit in ERCOT’s queue, with over 70% coming from data centers.
https://www.bicmagazine.com/industry/powergen/texas-grid-sees-233-gw-data-center-requests-much-real/
Texas Energy and Power Newsletter: The Data Behind Texas Reliability
March 4 — Behind the scenes, every few minutes, the ERCOT system generates tens of thousands of price signals, outage updates, and operational reports that demonstrate and drive the cost and availability of electricity.
https://www.texasenergyandpower.com/p/the-data-behind-texas-reliability
Inside Climate News: Why Electricity Bills Are So High—and How the Blowback Could Hit Trump
March 2 — As Democrats and climate activists seize on energy costs as a political issue, new data shows electricity rates rose 5 percent nationwide in 2025. The figures were much higher in some states.
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/02032026/whats-driving-higher-electricity-rates/
Energy Storage News (Commentary): What a history of Winter Storms teaches us about the future of energy storage in Texas
March 2 — It’s a great time to take note of how battery energy storage has helped improve ERCOT’s grid resilience since 2021, when the devastation and power outages caused by Winter Storm Uri shocked the nation. Energy storage demonstrated its ability to meet critical peak power demands during Winter Storm Fern in late January this year, and underscored that the discussion around energy storage in Texas is steadily shifting to ensuring continued resource adequacy in the face of booming electricity demand.
https://www.energy-storage.news/what-a-history-of-winter-storms-teaches-us-about-the-future-of-energy-storage-in-texas/
KFOX: El Paso Electric customers to see bill credits in March, April and May, company says
Feb. 27 — EP Electric said the refund, which in total was a little over $40 million, comes after the utility said it had “access to lower cost fuel” used to generate electricity and sold the excess power to other utilities.
https://kfoxtv.com/newsletter-daily/el-paso-electric-customers-to-see-bill-credits-in-march-april-and-may-company-says-texas-tx-ep-epepublic-utility-commission-puct
Private Equity Stakeholder Project: Houston Chronicle examines risks of Blackstone’s proposed TXNM takeover
Feb. 27 — To complete the proposed acquisition, Blackstone and TXNM must obtain approvals from a variety of state and federal regulatory agencies, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, and the Public Utility Commission of Texas. For state utility regulators to approve this deal, it must be deemed to be in the public interest. The joint application outlines proposed benefits such as capital investments, temporary customer rate credits, and the retention of local management, but digging into the details of these proposed benefits shows they only scratch the surface of what may be needed to provide true ratepayer protections against the proposed risks of the acquisition.
https://pestakeholder.org/media_coverage/houston-chronicle-examines-risks-of-blackstones-proposed-txnm-takeover/
Taylor Press: City to get new electric station
Feb. 27 — he City Council held four public hearings Thursday regarding new developments, along with ideas to make an Oncor Electric Delivery switch station easier on the eyes.
https://www.taylorpress.net/article/11384,city-to-get-new-electric-station
KLTV: ERCOT workshops how to support power requests from data centers
Feb. 26 — Texas is rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top destinations for AI data centers, bitcoin mining operations, and other power-hungry facilities. But there’s a critical problem: the state’s power grid may not be able to keep up with the explosive growth.
https://www.kltv.com/2026/02/27/ercot-workshops-how-support-power-requests-data-centers/
KCEN: Oncor changes High-Voltage transmission line timeline to review Community feedback
Feb. 26 — A proposed high-voltage transmission line project through Central Texas is drawing continued concern from residents as developers prepare to file with state regulators after months of public feedback.
https://www.kcentv.com/article/news/local/bell-county/texas-high-voltage-transmission-line-filing-delayed/500-4bdb6bf1-882b-43a4-8ecd-1e1d71922561
Lapses Dispatch Record: Lometa couple sound alarm over battery storage plant
Feb. 26 — The 200 MW Thomas Cameron BESS facility on County Road 2275 is expected to be in operation by May 2027. According to available information from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, three additional BESS facilities are planned for Lampasas County.
https://www.lampasasdispatchrecord.com/news/lometa-couple-sound-alarm-over-battery-storage-plant
GAS UTILITY and RAILROAD COMMISSION NEWS
Texas Tribune: Bo French, Jim Wright head to runoff for seat on Texas Railroad Commission
March 3 — The Texas Railroad Commission is responsible for regulating the state’s oil and gas industry. The election included a clash over China and diversity rules.
https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/03/texas-railroad-commission-republican-primary/
El Paso Times: El Paso Gas Bills Skyrocket: What’s Behind the Surge?
March 3 — The new rates were to increase residential gas bills by 10%-19%, or from just under $4 to just over $11 per month, depending on the size of the home, El Paso city officials have reported.
https://www.elpasotimes.com/story/money/business/2026/03/03/el-pasoans-get-sticker-shock-with-new-texas-gas-service-bills/88952961007/
KFOX14: El Paso City Council seeks rehearing and appeal in Electric and Texas Gas rate hike
March 2 — El Paso city leaders are continuing their fight against approved rate increases by both El Paso Electric and Texas Gas Service, seeking a rehearing from the Public Utility Commission of Texas and appealing a decision by the Railroad Commission of Texas.
https://kfoxtv.com/newsletter-daily/el-paso-city-council-seeks-rehearing-and-appeal-in-electric-and-texas-gas-rate-cases
KFOX: El Paso challenges state-approved Texas Gas Service rate increase after pricey bills
Feb. 27 — According to the City of El Paso, it is filing a motion with the Railroad Commission of Texas for a rehearing, looking to challenge Texas Gas Service’s recent rate hike.
https://kfoxtv.com/news/local/el-paso-challenges-state-approved-texas-gas-service-rate-increase-after-pricey-bills-tx-railroad-commission-mayor-renard-johnson
KVIA: City challenges state approval of Texas Gas Service rate increase
Feb. 27 — The Railroad Commission regulates natural gas utilities, customers are directing their complaints to the city. The City said they do not set the rates for Texas Gas Service and do not have the authority to reduce individual bills.
https://kvia.com/news/2026/02/27/city-challenges-state-approval-of-texas-gas-service-rate-increase/
TELECOM AND BROADBAND NEWS
Broadband Breakfast: More Ideas for Use of BEAD Non-deployment Funding
March 4 — NTIA has been taking input on how to allow states to spend the roughly $21 billion in remaining program funds.
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/more-ideas-for-use-of-bead-non-deployment-funding/
East Texas News: Library completes infrastructure upgrade, improvements through grant funding
March 4 — The Allan Shivers Library and Museum (ASLM) has completed a transformative renovation project funded by a grant from the Texas State library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) and the Broadband Development Office (BDO). The Library Infrastructure Facility Improvement (LIFI) Grant focuses on improving internet, expanding digital services, and creating spaces to enable the library to provide those services.
https://www.easttexasnews.com/stories/library-completes-infrastructure-upgrade-improvements-through-grant-funding,81197?
Benton Institute: The Promise of Universal Service in the Telecommunications Act of 1996
March 3 — For decades, universal service had meant one thing: ensuring that all Americans could access basic telephone service at affordable rates through a system of implicit cross-subsidies managed largely within the monopoly structure of AT&T and its successors.
https://www.benton.org/publications/promise-universal-service
Benton Institute: Making Good on the Promise of Universal Service
March 3 — For decades, universal service had meant one thing: ensuring that all Americans could access basic telephone service at affordable rates through a system of implicit cross-subsidies managed largely within the monopoly structure of AT&T and its successors.
https://www.benton.org/blog/making-good-promise-universal-service
Broadband Breakfast: Bill Revoking State-Run Lifeline Eligibility Introduced
March 3 — The bill could impact Oregon and Texas, the remaining two states with their own Lifeline verification process.
https://broadbandbreakfast.com/bill-revoking-state-run-lifeline-eligibility-introduced/
Telecompetitor: States and NGOs must bridge senior broadband gap: AARP
March 2 — The end of the Affordability Connectivity Program (ACP) and changes to the Digital Equity Act have made broadband bills a burden for needy families, and new solutions are needed. That’s according to a new report from Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) organization within the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), published February 26.
https://www.telecompetitor.com/states-and-ngos-must-bridge-senior-broadband-gap-aarp/
Broadband Communities: RightFiber announces North Texas expansion
Feb. 26 — RightFiber said Monday it will invest more than $50 million to expand its 100% fiber-optic network across North Texas, bringing residential speeds up to 5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) and business connections up to 100 Gbps.
https://bbcmag.com/rightfiber-announces-north-texas-expansion-starts-in-seagoville/