As May begins, much of the country is experiencing the gradual onset of warmer weather. Texas is already feeling the full force of it, with temperatures in many areas reaching the 80s and 90s. During this time of the year in Texas, power grids can become strained due to increased demand spurred on by early heat and supplies may be limited. ERCOT, the Texas grid operator, is concerned about maintaining adequate electricity supply to keep the lights on.
Straight Arrow News contributor Peter Zeihan explains why the Texas energy model is failing, and how that failure will soon force Texans to make “uncomfortable decisions and very large investments.”
Excerpted from Peter’s May 1 “Zeihan on Geopolitics” newsletter:
Over the weekend, some Texans had a not-so-friendly reminder that their power grid doesn’t work well under stress. This is just one of many outages and electricity challenges that Texas will face in the coming years.
There’s three main things contributing to the state’s energy grid issues: climate change, population growth and industrial regeneration. Some of these are [a] bit easier to track than others, but Texas must carefully navigate each of them to keep up with demand.
As energy demands grow, the Texas grid will have to expand significantly to keep up. That means we can expect plenty of regulatory and infrastructure changes coming down the pipe.