Bill Text: TX SCR1 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 2nd Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requesting the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of representatives to create a joint interim committee to study the security of the Texas electric grid.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-08-06 - Filed [SCR1 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SCR1-Introduced.html
| By: Hall | S.C.R. No. 1 | |
|
|
||
| WHEREAS, Our food and water supplies, communications, | ||
| banking, hospitals, law enforcement, and countless critical | ||
| functions depend on the electric grid, and its protection is vital | ||
| to homeland security; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri provided a harsh | ||
| reminder of the importance of the Texas power grid as | ||
| weather-related failures left many residents and businesses | ||
| without access to heat; in April and June, the Electric Reliability | ||
| Council of Texas responded to power generation outages by issuing | ||
| requests for citizens to temporarily reduce energy use; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Although more work remains to be done in preventing | ||
| energy shortages, Texas is fortunate to have its own power grid; the | ||
| state is thus capable of hardening its own electric system to ensure | ||
| reliable electricity in any environment for residents, businesses, | ||
| and state and local government, as well as for U.S. military bases; | ||
| for example, during the 87th Regular Session, the Texas Legislature | ||
| passed Senate Bill 3, which requires power generation companies in | ||
| Texas to prepare their facilities for extreme weather; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Protecting the grid from all threats would provide | ||
| substantial economic benefits; as the federal government closes | ||
| military bases around the country, Texas bases would likely survive | ||
| closure because of their enhanced energy security; moreover, | ||
| companies considering relocation or expansion would clearly find | ||
| the assurance of secure power immensely valuable and look to the | ||
| Lone Star State; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The protection of the electric grid is essential to | ||
| the security and continued prosperity of our state and nation, and | ||
| Texas is prepared to do its part to ensure that citizens can rely | ||
| completely on the power system that sustains our society; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, | ||
| 2nd Called Session, hereby request the lieutenant governor and the | ||
| speaker of the house of representatives to create a joint interim | ||
| committee to study the security of the Texas electric grid; and, be | ||
| it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the committee include members of the Public | ||
| Utilities Commission, Electric Reliability Council of Texas and | ||
| other relevant stakeholder groups; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including | ||
| findings and recommendations, to the 88th Texas Legislature in | ||
| January 2023; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be | ||
| governed by such general rules and policies for interim committees | ||
| as the 87th Texas Legislature may adopt. | ||
