The PUC’s Efficiency Questions: A Potential Turning Point for Grid Reliability

This Thursday at noon looms as a key deadline for anyone who cares about Texas’ ability to have a reliable grid.

We’ve known for years — since long before Winter Storm Uri in 2021 and summer energy alerts in 2022 and 2023 — that the state needed to do much, much more to reduce energy waste and increase demand flexibility. Increasingly intense summer scorchers and winter blasts trigger air conditioners and heaters to kick into high gear, taxing the ERCOT grid already straining to meet demand.

Thursday is the PUC’s deadline for responses to a list of questions about what Texas can do to optimize energy use in ways that fortify homes and buildings against extreme weather, reduce the risk of outages, and lower energy bills. It comes after the Legislature last year required the PUC "by rule" to "establish goals in the ERCOT power region to reduce average total residential load." 

Governor Abbott signed the bill over eleven months ago, yet the rulemaking process hasn't even started. Hopefully, the PUC questions will be a prelude to a rulemaking. 

Here’s a look at some of what they're asking…