An Impactful PUC Decision and An Expensive Legislative Proposal: Grid Roundup #54

State Affairs passed HB 3356 with a rare 8-7 vote while its companion was not brought up on the Senate floor; the PUC approved the first 765-kV in the state’s history; House passes nuclear bill

In this issue:

• The House Committee on State Affairs advanced a bill, HB 3356, that would raise electric costs and completely disrupt the ERCOT market on a remarkable 8-7 vote. The companion, SB 715, was not brought up in the Senate yesterday, even though it was eligible.

• The PUC approved the first Extra High Voltage 765-kV transmission lines in state’s history

• The Texas House advanced HB 14 to incentivize new nuclear power plants, research, and the development of an advanced nuclear workforce;

• The PUC greenlighted four new gas plants in the Texas Energy Fund. They were all peaker plants, bringing the percent of peakers in the TEF to 90%;

• And the PUC also approved the first completion bonus. The project, by LCRA, was announced before the TEF existed but qualified anyway.

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