Houston Chronicle: One year ago, a surprise derecho hit Houston. Why are customers on the hook for CenterPoint’s costs?
May 16 — A surprise derecho whipped through Houston one year ago, causing billions of dollars in damages and days of power outages. Most of the area’s affected businesses had to file insurance claims, swallow their losses or, in the worst-case scenarios, shut down. But CenterPoint Energy, the company responsible for maintaining the region’s power lines, didn’t have to worry about taking a big financial hit. It got to pass on $400 million of its storm costs from last May to its customers via a rate increase approved by state regulators last month.
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Reform Austin: Texas Grid Stays Strong, Despite Pushback on Renewables
Reform Austin: Texas Grid Stays Strong, Despite Pushback on RenewablesMay 16 — Despite the intense heat and high demand, ERCOT said it anticipates no power shortages. In an email statement, spokesperson Trudi Webster confirmed that the grid is “operating under normal conditions” with “sufficient capacity to meet demand.”
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Houston Public Media: CenterPoint Energy partnering on battery storage project that aims to bolster Houston-area power grid
Houston Public Media: CenterPoint Energy partnering on battery storage project that aims to bolster Houston-area power gridMay15 — The project is part of a growing trend statewide that has exponentially increased Texas’ battery capacity over the past few years.
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Utility Dive: Thousands of energy experts are leaving federal government. Here’s where they should go.
Utility Dive: Thousands of energy experts are leaving federal government. Here’s where they should go.May 14 — State PUCs desperately need skilled energy professionals to advance economic development, energy affordability and national security goals.
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Utility Dive: Sempra to sell Mexican natural gas business to fund transmission expansion in Texas
May 9 — The sale of gas assets and a minority interest in Sempra Infrastructure would reduce the company’s need to issue new common stock to fund its $56 billion capital plan, CEO Jeff Martin said.
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Community Impact: Texas lawmakers look to strengthen power grid amid data center growth
Community Impact: Texas lawmakers look to strengthen power grid amid data center growthMay 8 — Demand on Texas’ power grid reached a record 85,508 megawatts in August 2023, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas has estimated it will grow to about 150,000 megawatts by 2030. Lawmakers have said large data centers and industrial projects could cause significant strain to the grid unless changes are made.
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Texas Tribune: Texas may put restraints on new big businesses hoping to tap into the energy grid
Texas Tribune: Texas may put restraints on new big businesses hoping to tap into the energy gridMay 7 — According to ERCOT, the state’s energy demand may double in six years.
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Austin American-Statesman: Here’s what CEO Pablo Vegas had to say at ERCOT’s annual Innovation Summit
Austin American-Statesman: Here’s what CEO Pablo Vegas had to say at ERCOT’s annual Innovation SummitMay 8 — “There are risks” to some bills moving through the Texas Legislature that look to restrict renewable energies in the state, Vegas said.
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ABC KTRK TV Houston — CenterPoint begins installing Texas’ 1st independent utility-owned weather monitoring stations
ABC KTRK TV Houston — May 7 — The monitors will be the first owned by an investor-based utility company in the state of Texas, officials announced in an April 28 news release. The 100 monitors will be installed on existing electrical infrastructure across all 12 counties in the company’s Greater Houston service area.
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BusinessWire: SiEnergy to Acquire EPCOR’s Texas Natural Gas Utility
BusinessWire: SiEnergy to Acquire EPCOR’s Texas Natural Gas UtilityMay 5 — EPCOR Texas Gas’s assets include approximately 6,900 metered connections and 353 miles of pipeline that serve 12 communities northeast of Houston. EPCOR Texas Gas, which has owned and operated the assets since 2017, is expected to have a rate base of approximately $46 million at the end of 2025.
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Reason Magazine: Texas Lawmakers Want To Use ‘Police Power’ of the State To Halt Renewable Energy Projects
Reason Magazine: Texas Lawmakers Want To Use ‘Police Power’ of the State To Halt Renewable Energy ProjectsMay 2 — The legislature is advancing three bills that will trample on private property rights and give natural gas a leg up in the Lone Star State.
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Houston Public Media: Texas Senate passes bill to increase penalty for assaulting utility workers in aftermath of Hurricane Beryl
Houston Public Media: Texas Senate passes bill to increase penalty for assaulting utility workers in aftermath of Hurricane BerylMay 1 — Sen. Carol Alvarado (D-Houston) authored Senate Bill 482, which would increase the penalty for assaulting a utility worker to a third-degree felony and make harassing a utility worker a Class A misdemeanor. Workers for CenterPoint Energy faced threats and physical assaults last year after Hurricane Beryl caused prolonged power outages.