Texans Demand An Energy System That Works For Them

AUSTIN, TX -- Today, a coalition of Sierra Club members, supporters, and allied organizations including Texas Campaign for the Environment, and the Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER) submitted a petition with over four thousand signatures to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, and almost two dozen people shared in-person testimony in front of the Public Utility Commission (PUC) of Texas, demanding that Governor Abbott, the PUC, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) fix the Texas electric grid to prevent a repeat the statewide blackouts of February, 2021, and to create an energy system that works for everyday Texans.

“Several of the so-called solutions - including the proposed ‘Load Serving Entity Obligation’ -- would be incredibly costly to consumers and serve as a backdoor capacity payment to fossil fuel generators that failed us,” said Cyrus Reed, Conservation Director of the Sierra Club. “They would also undermine the development of cheaper, cleaner new technologies like solar and storage. We need expanded energy efficiency, energy management and distributed generation technologies to build the grid of the future.” 

“On the morning of the freeze, when my family got up, my mother was in the kitchen and she noticed water dripping from the foyer and entrance to the living room,” said Camil Boyd, a Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience (CEER) Climate Ambassador. “So we cut the water off. Later on that day the lights went out. So at this point we were out of water, no toilet, and no power. Now our home was very cold; we added extra clothing to try and keep warm. It was two weeks before we could get a plumber, and then we had to make an appointment. It was several weeks before someone came and actually repaired the pipes.”

“The Public Utility Commission hasn’t given ordinary Texans a meaningful way to participate in their supposed overhaul of our energy market,” said Robin Schneider, Executive Director, Texas Campaign for the Environment. “They claim to have 'robust stakeholder input' but that input has mostly included Big Energy companies’ lobbyists and experts. Are the people of Texas not stakeholders in our own energy grid?"

“During the Uri storm, our family spent more than a day seeking a solution for our matriarch, my 87 year old mother who has had triple by-pass surgery, has diabetes, has several respiratory issues and relies on oxygen for daily care,” said Betty Gregory, a member and volunteer with CEER. “The initial hotel at George Bush airport, where my son placed her, lost water and electricity on the first day she was there. We finally found her a better location near the convention center, and I found her a back-up location at Holiday Inn. It was a really tentative, nerve racking, uncomfortable situation for her and her children, as well as our own personal circumstances. I have no doubt that resolutions will be made in certain areas of the city, yet we are less optimistic about the inclusivity of marginal areas and marginal citizens (as we are with the Covid situations). When will our time come for equality in so many of these concerns for us? God help us all!”

 Following the workshop, the PUC is expected to adopt a “Blueprint” for changes to the energy market. While the Blueprint does contain some good first steps -- such as reviewing and potentially expanding the energy efficiency programs and assessing barriers to full integration of distributed solar and storage into our markets -- it also contains the possibility of major changes that would increase costs and payments to fossil fuel generators that could undermine the development of clean energy.