Mixed Message Delivered in the (Political) Theater of the Absurd

The sky is falling. And everything is great!

Such was the message at a bizarre PUC and ERCOT press conference Wednesday. Ostensibly, the purpose was to release two reports on grid reliability. Instead, it turned into a political exercise — another effort to spin Texas’ ongoing grid problems as something somehow caused by the state’s nation-leading clean energy resources. 

“The grid is more reliable than ever,” said ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas. Also Vegas: There is a “higher risk of emergency operations” this summer compared to last. So more reliable than ever… except for last summer?

Said PUC Chair Peter Lake: “The risk of brief periods of load shed has increased.”

Got it. More reliable than ever and more risk of rolling outages. Clear as mud!

So Are There Actually Problems?

Texans continue to list grid reliability as one of their top concerns. Given these mixed messages, that won’t change any time soon — nor should it, given the increasingly obvious political and anti-competitive tilt of the PUC and ERCOT…