Bills aimed at adding more natural gas power to Texas grid clear Senate

Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant opened its doors to media on October 15, 2021 to show the plant’s weatherization process. Energy providers like Vistra are preparing their plants for extreme weather conditions following the February winter storm Uri, which disrupted the Texas electric grid and led to the deaths of more than 200 people. (Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune)

The Texas Senate on Wednesday approved two major bills aimed at building more on-demand power generators such as natural gas-fueled plants in the state. The goal of the bills, according to the sponsors, is to prevent another catastrophic power shortage like the one that killed more than 200 people in 2021 as freezing temperatures knocked power production offline and left millions of Texans shivering in the dark.

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7 by votes of 22-9 and 31-0, respectively. The bills represent a push toward funneling more money to natural gas energy production in the state, which supporters say will improve the electric grid because those generators can essentially come on with the flip of a switch. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick named both bills as priorities earlier in the session.