What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan

El Paso Electric's natural gas-powered Newman Generating Station in El Paso. The state's Public Utility Commission is proposing changes to the state's electricity market that aim to give companies a financial incentive to build more gas-fired plants or extend the lives of current plants. (Credit: Justin Hamel for The Texas Tribune)

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The winter storm that hit Texas in February 2021 strained the state’s electricity grid so much that power had to be cut to millions of homes and businesses to prevent the grid’s complete failure. At least 200 people died, many from hypothermia and some from carbon monoxide poisoning.