The Most Important Bills You Aren’t Talking About

Today, the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy released an astounding report showing that Texas could slash electricity demand by more than 16,000 megawatts in winter through the widespread use of efficient heat pumps, smart thermostats, and demand response programs aimed at electric vehicles.

That’s more than 80% of the missing megawatts during Uri; ERCOT demand was about 20,000 megawatts more than available supply.

It’s also about 20% of the peak demand that the PUC and ERCOT leaders fretted over last week and 50% more capacity than the infamous Berkshire Hathaway spending binge would create.

The cost savings are about as dramatic. The Berkshire Hathaway plan is now projected to cost $18 billion; to reduce the same amount of power, if utilities and policymakers focused on three highly cost effective offerings (heat pumps, thermostats, and EV demand response), runs about $100 million per year . 

Another comparison: the Lieutenant Governor’s newest proposal for zero-interest loans and “completion bonuses” for gas plants is estimated to cost Texans about $1 billion for every gigawatt of electricity that’s added to the grid. The ACEEE study shows that Texas could cut a gigawatt of demand for about $42 million or less than1/20th of that cost — 95% less…