Texas Weather Infrastructure

 When we think of weaknesses in the Texas power grid, the first thought is extreme weather or manufactured events that could harm the power grid and its operation.  Texas's problems with its power grid are entirely preventable if the companies that run them were made to keep up with stringent standards of protection and mitigation so that there are no issues when extreme weather comes.  The physical problems that the power grid currently has have to do with weatherization (or a lack thereof) and, in many instances, a shocking lack of basic upkeep and maintenance by the private entities that run different areas of the power grid.  Lawmakers in the state of Texas are staunchly against any regulation and do not feel it is the government's responsibility to dictate standards and practices to private businesses.  The problem with this thinking is that every Texan has no choice but to partake in the state's power if they want to work, run their businesses, go to school, and live an entire life after all of that.  The people of Texas are not like any other consumer because they cannot just decide not to patronize power because it does not work for them.  Because of this, the private entities that partner with the state government must be held to regulations that have consequences if they are not followed.  Regulations can be reasonable, and they always favor the consumers.  Common sense regulations can dramatically increase the power grid's resilience and help prevent the catastrophe that was the freeze of 2021 from happening again.

            To be clear, there are physical weaknesses in the Texas power grid that must be addressed quickly.  Weatherization is an issue that the state has known about since the last freeze back in 2011 that crippled Texas to the point of almost having a massive blackout.  The federal government does not have any say in the operation of the Texas grid because the Texas grid does not venture into other states.  However, the federal government did come up with a list of suggestions that could help Texas so that issues such as widespread blackouts could be averted. Unfortunately, the legislature decided against any forceful regulation and gave gentle guidance to the power companies to bring their operations up to standard.  If the power companies felt the rules were too burdensome, they could forgo any change.  In the end, this is worse than any weather event or terrorist attack in terms of the kind of damage this policy can bring to regular people.  The laissez-faire attitude of the state legislature towards these issues is the most dangerous of the external security risks to the Texas power grid. 

            Next on the list of threats to the Texas power grid is global warming and the unpredictable weather that it causes.  The winter storm showed us that just because you live in an area that rarely sees cold weather, do not get comfortable thinking that it will never happen.  Global warming is shifting what is possible when it comes to weather and weather patterns.  Texas lawmakers have come up with some remedies that they claim will help the state battle global warming and make sure that the entire critical infrastructure is made resilient enough to handle the wild, unpredictable weather.  According to Mekelberg (2021), "energy experts, however, say the proposals don't go far enough, and if lawmakers don't start planning for the long term with climate change in mind, they could be setting up the state for crises" (para 1).  As the statement above shows, climate change is something that our legislature should be paying more attention to when it comes to protecting our critical infrastructure.  However, all that has happened in the wake of the February 2021 freeze are cosmetic measures to stave off the immense public pressure in the aftermath of the freeze.  The non-action of our legislature, along with being complicit in companies not making their equipment resilient enough to withstand harsh weather, makes our legislature the most dangerous outside entity facing the Texas power grid.

            The following security risk that is faced by the Texas power grid is the age of the power generation facilities and equipment coupled with a failure to implement upgrades or to consistently maintain the equipment.  The legislature has long been against forcing the private partners in our critical infrastructure to do anything that may cost the corporations profits in the long term.  In response to the outcry over the freeze, lawmakers have come up with a bill that they hope can incentivize the private partners in our critical infrastructure to act in the community's best interest.  According to Mekelburg (2021), "Senate Bill 3 requires all power generation, transmission, and natural gas facilities and pipelines in the state to weatherize equipment under the threat of a $1 million a day fine for failure to comply" (para. 2).  The fact that this bill has the teeth of a 1 million dollar fine behind it may be the start of Texas holding many of the private companies in our critical infrastructure accountable for the upkeep of their equipment.  The operation of these facilities is life and death for the people of Texas. 

            The next threat to the Texas power grid would come in the form of man-made hazards.  We have come to live in an era where people feel they need to be violent to get their point across.  Misinformation and disinformation rule the day as cable news channels and internet sites look to get more eyes on their sites by posting clickbait masquerading as news.  The inevitable outcome of all of this misinformation is that some people feel the need to go out and make a statement by blowing things up. Security, specifically at points of infrastructure that can affect millions of people, needs to be in place to be able to combat those who would try to harm others and affect businesses in the United States and Texas.  Earlier in the year, we had a Russian hacking group break through the cyber security at Colonial Pipeline.  Ransomware was placed in their system, and it would not be released until the ransom was paid.  The ransom was eventually paid; however, the shutdown of the pipeline affected 45 percent of all the oil and gasoline production on the east coast.  Gas prices on the east coast shot up because of the cut-off in services.  The same thing could happen in Texas if the state government is not vigilant in protecting not only the power grid but all critical infrastructures in the state of Texas.  Terrorists in any form, whether they are traditional terrorists or cyber terrorists, are dangerous.  Security needs to be at its best at the physical structures or online to keep the power grid and other sectors of critical infrastructure running smoothly.

            One of the biggest issues we have here in Texas is our lack of any connection with the eastern interconnection or the western interconnection of the U.S. power grid.  A newspaper in Arkansas soon after the freeze here in Texas declared that they were blessed because of their significant connection to the eastern interconnection of the U.S. power grid.  The residents of Arkansas are fortunate to be able to have a considerable overlap with the Eastern Interconnection to help them keep the power on should they have any significant events in the state that cause them to lose power.  Massey (2021) states that “Arkansas electricity customers are better situated largely because we're so well connected to the Eastern Interconnection, one of the two major alternating-current electrical grids in North America" ( para. 1).  After the federal power act of 1935, which put all the licensing for power plants under federal control, Texas decided to keep the federal government out of the Texas power grid by not crossing state lines which would then put it under federal jurisdiction.  Texas has been proud of this development as it has been able to create its unregulated ecosystem with private companies competing for customers.  Many of the electric providers sell power at the market rate, which in good times can lead to low power rates for customers as well as healthy profits for the companies.  The problem comes when there is an issue with the power grid, and wholesale power prices start to spike.  The price increases are passed down to the customers, who then are left with outrageous bills to try to navigate.  If Texas were connected to the national grid, there could be some assistance that could help mitigate the effects of losing so many power generation facilities at one time.  Texas will have to come to realize that being separate from the national power grid is doing more harm than help to Texas residents.  If the legislature is genuinely concerned about this issue, more has to happen than the baby steps that have occurred since the incident.

            Global warming, wear, and tear, traditional and cyber terrorists, as well as the lost connection to the national grid are all risks that the Texas grid faces daily.  However, the most significant danger facing the Texas power grid is the legislature failing to place any effective regulations on the power providers in this state.  Regulation is seen as a four-letter word in Texas, where anything that looks like regulation is decried as too liberal or communist.  Regulation, in most cases, favors the consumer.  A case can be made that too much regulation stifles business; however, what we have in Texas equates to having a rooster guard the hen house.  We currently allow power providers to self-regulate when it comes to keeping their equipment and power generation facilities in working order.  Of course, when these companies were given a choice, they decided to go with profits ahead of ensuring they could provide power to millions of paying customers.  Senate Bill 3 is an excellent start to holding these power companies accountable.  Anytime these companies are found to be out of compliance, it is a 1 million dollar-a-day fine.  This is significant because Texas has always had standards in place for not only power companies but the entire critical infrastructure in the state.  The difference now is that Senate Bill 3 puts some teeth into these standards where companies will pay the price for not weatherizing their equipment or keeping them in working order.  The Texas legislature can no longer be the most dangerous threat to our power grid being able to operate correctly.  The Texas power grid needs to be resilient because of the way Texas weather is constantly shifting.  Anyone who lives here understands that within the same week, it can be bitter cold and warm like the tropics.  During the week of the freeze on that Saturday, the temperatures in Houston, Texas, were in the low 70's.  Many remarked how it was almost as if the snowstorm did not happen at all.  If it weren't for the litany of busted pipes in homes around town, you wouldn't have even known that there was an arctic event.  The way that we achieve the proper mitigation to global warming, terrorist attacks, and wear and tear of systems is for the legislature to put people before profits.  Texas has a large energy lobby that fights tooth and nail to keep regulation as light as it possibly can.  These lobbyists give to political campaigns, write laws for lawmakers to introduce during the congress, and have a seat at the table when laws like Senate Bill 3 are proposed.  This energy lobby has paved the way for Texas to be lightly regulated and has also paved the way for the power grid to be vulnerable to external hazards like global warming.  This is why I am putting the Texas legislature at the top of the list for the most potentially damaging.  The legislature has had the power to enact more common-sense regulations, and they have not.  The state seems to be taking baby steps to make sure that there is no repeat of the February snowstorm.  What may have to happen for the people in the statehouse to get the message is another incident where we have mass power outages, and people are forced to suffer for a period.  This past summer, we were under threat of blackout because we were told repeatedly that the heat and increased demand were taxing the power generation facilities to their limits.  It makes no sense to brag about how your state has the lowest rates for power in the nation, and you have problems keeping them on for people to enjoy.