Oil and gas companies have said the region needs more power. Environmentalists and a conservative think tank worry the state is moving too fast — and ratepayers will see the costs in their bills.

The first small modular nuclear reactor could be powering an industrial plant in Texas early in the next decade. And the state is pushing to become the leading site for testing and building the technology.

Five years after Winter Storm Uri caused catastrophic blackouts that killed hundreds, the electric grid has changed significantly, but increasing demand means it will have to adapt even more.

As companies look to build projects that consume more power than cities, the state’s grid manager is trying to plan how to provide enough electricity to meet the demand.

The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) delayed a decision Tuesday on where Entergy will build a 150-mile high-voltage transmission line, a project meant to supply electricity to Houston’s fast-growing suburbs.

Has this happened to you?! KPRC 2's Jaewon Jung filed a public records request with the Texas Attorney General's Office and found the number of solar-related complaints more than doubled from 2020 to 2024.

The legislation would put new requirements on wind and solar companies that oil and gas companies in Texas do not face.

The Legislature has tried to clamp down on renewable energy resources in the past, but many lawmakers are recognizing the need to support all types of generation to meet record demand growth.

Some experts are skeptical the grid would see as much demand growth as ERCOT predicts, and other ERCOT models showed things getting tight but not tipping into a deficit.

Houston’s main electrical company backed off plans to raise rates after facing sharp criticism for its response to massive power outages after Hurricane Beryl.

The Public Utility Commission found that the performance credit mechanism, a financial tool the Legislature capped at $1 billion, would only marginally improve reliability of the state power grid.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas adopted the rule amid surging demand for power across the state and a growing crypto mining industry in Texas.

The examination of Deloitte’s existing contracts comes after it failed to catch red flags in a company’s application for a loan to build or upgrade power plants in the state.

Lawmakers tasked the Public Utility Commission with overseeing the Texas Energy Fund, though the agency has no experience running a loan program.

CenterPoint Energy is being investigated by the state and also answering to the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) for its response to the historic number of power outages in the Houston area from Hurricane Beryl.

After the energy giant faced scrutiny for getting rid of its online outage tracker, CenterPoint Energy says it'll be unveiling a new, online and cloud-based outage tracker as it works to improve communication with customers.

The PUC is getting ready to launch an online public survey for residents and businesses.

Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response.

The company’s power outages in July have drawn the ire of state leaders. Here’s what you need to know.

Repairing electricity infrastructure after storms usually costs customers. So could strengthening it before the next weather event.

The Houston area’s main utility company says it expects to have power restored to most residents by Wednesday.

Abbott demanded that the utility company produce a plan by the end of July outlining how it will improve power reliability ahead of future storms.

According to state filings, the utility is restoring power at a relatively quicker pace than after prior storms. Texans are still fed up.

Supporters say developing hydrogen as a fuel is critical to slowing climate change. Critics are concerned that producing it with fossil fuels will prop up the oil and gas industry.

Industry experts continue to argue over whether the electricity market in Texas needs to change to make the grid more reliable in winter and summer.

Only one Texan, Rep. Pete Sessions, remains in the race for House Speaker. Republicans will hear from the candidates Monday night as they try to fill the job following U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s failure to win a majority.

Record-high power demand and faltering electricity sources have tested the grid in the past month, forcing the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to dig deep into its toolbox to keep power flowing.

Public Utility Commission Chair Peter Lake said renewable energy could be critical to preventing power outages this summer. Renewable energy supporters said the grid’s reliability doesn’t hinge on wind and solar.

The actions by the Public Utility Commission led to billions of dollars of overcharges, the Austin-based court found. It’s not yet clear if the ruling will affect consumers.

The Texas Public Utility Commission is fining Texas New Mexico Power $1.7 million dollars for its failure to upgrade its electric meters before the 3G network it relied on was taken down.KPRC 2 Investigates has reported the problems caused by the outdated meters for months.

The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans.

Hundreds of electric customers in League City, Galveston, Alvin, and along the gulf coast are getting inaccurate, inflated electric bills. One woman called our KPRC 2 Investigates team when her electric company insisted she pays $2,000 she didn’t owe or get her power shut off.

The substantial change in the way the state’s market works will first be reviewed by the Legislature.

The Public Utility Commission has about 200 employees but needs more to handle shoring up the state power grid and tackling an expanded list of regulatory duties, according to the state Sunset Advisory Commission.

Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in.

The U.S. Department of Energy granted permission for power plants to release more pollution than is normally allowed — if grid conditions worsen.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects sufficient electricity generation as much of the state will plunge into frigid temperatures.

In a Monday committee hearing, lawmakers questioned whether a Public Utility Commission proposal to redesign Texas’ electricity market would lead to the building of more natural-gas-fired power plants. Regulators say it would.

Changes to Texas’ power grid have improved ERCOT’s ability to keep power flowing during major winter storms, but in an extreme scenario, the grid could still face rolling blackouts, a seasonal assessment shows.

The proposal is aimed at making sure power providers and electricity generators have enough power on hand in case of increased demand. But it’s not clear how it would hold up in unexpected weather, an expert said.

The governor shared the favorable forecast — which is normal for the fall months — ahead of a competitive race in which the grid’s performance during last year’s fatal winter storm may factor into Texans’ decisions at the polls.

Locked in a potentially tight reelection race and facing criticism over the grid’s 2021 collapse, the governor is exerting unprecedented influence over what the state grid operator shares with the public — and who will be its next CEO.

The rate increase will help replenish a state fund to maintain and operate cellphone networks in rural Texas. A court determined the state’s Public Utility Commission needed to restore $200 million in overdue money to the fund.

While wind farms in the region could help power and lower energy costs for at least 9 million homes, significant infrastructure upgrades would be needed to supply electricity from the region to other parts of the state.

The cost of electricity in Texas is tightly tied to the price of natural gas, which has more than doubled since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

Texas Public Utility Commission Chair Peter Lake and ERCOT President Brad Jones said the power grid is prepared for record-breaking summer electricity demand.

After last winter’s near-statewide electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers went after regulators they deemed responsible but tiptoed around the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. Now voters have a chance, if they want it, to send the state a message.

Texas has long refused to connect its decentralized grid to two national power networks, but Hunt Energy Network CEO Pat Wood said the state could do so without additional oversight — and without state Legislature approval.

In the state’s power grid, electricity and natural gas are co-dependent. Here’s how the winter storm last year broke the system.

Transitioning sources of electricity to cleaner fuels is one of the best tools humanity has to fight climate change — which brings severe weather that taxes the grid. But a year after the winter storm, Texas leaders aren’t talking about decarbonizing.

With the height of the winter season approaching, here are some tips to prepare an emergency kit, protect your home and stay informed.

He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm.

Texans will not lose power if another winter storm strikes, like the one that crippled the state’s power grid last February, according to the chairman of Texas Public Utility Commission Peter Lake.

Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll.

The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February.

Next year’s primary elections start a year after a winter storm knocked out power across Texas — and the government response to that disaster could be on voters’ minds.

The state Public Utility Commission adopted a rule — which experts first recommended a decade ago following a winter storm — requiring power companies to use “best efforts” to ensure plants can operate in the winter.

Oil and gas industry groups provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission for appointment to a council formed in response to the February power crisis. All four of the industry's top choices were selected.

The state plans to use past weather data to craft rules for power plant upgrades. Scientists warn that the accelerating effects of climate change make relying on old data alone insufficient.

The state’s electricity regulators said they’re taking steps to assure a skeptical public that the power won’t go out again if Texas experiences extreme weather this summer.

The Public Utility Commission said the state's main power grid operator will have three days — instead of 60 — to release some information about power plant outages. But that may not include why the electricity generators were offline.

A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why.

Texas lawmakers passed major bills in response to the winter storm power outages that killed hundreds of Texans in February. But there’s still a lot to do.

The Texas Public Utility Commission is considering ending a ‘no disconnect’ order, possibly as soon as June 11.

While lawmakers took significant steps toward preventing another blackout, hardly any of the proposals passed during this legislative session will aid consumers in recovering from the February storm — but they’ll see higher utility bills.

Several billions of dollars in state-approved financing will be necessary to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market after the winter storm. Texas approves more in finance bailouts for its utilities than any other state.

The Texas House could take up its proposal to better prepare for extreme weather as soon as Sunday. The chambers have a little more than a week to wrap up remaining work.

Time is running out on a slate of other bills lawmakers are considering that stem from February's deadly winter storm.

Greg Abbott has accepted Public Utility Commission Chair Arthur D'Andrea's resignation. Credit: Texas Public Utility CommissionPublic Utility Commission Chair Arthur D'Andrea has resigned, Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed Tuesday night. D'Andrea was the only remaining member of the three-seat commission that regulates the state's electric, telecommunication and water and sewer utilities. Ad"Texans deserve to have trust and confidence in the Public Utility Commission, and this action is one of many steps that will be taken to achieve that goal," Abbott said.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas, or P.U.C., held a meeting Wednesday with a number of items on their agenda pertaining to the failure of the Texas Power Grid. However, before the meeting kicked off, P.U.C. Commissioner Arthur C. D’Andrea stated the agency’s commitment to serving Texas. Agenda Item 16 stated they would discuss the investigation into the winter storm fiasco. However, no details of any investigation were revealed, although, officials did discuss the plausibility of an audit of energy used and prices paid by consumers.

Despite showing an uptick in electricity complaints this year, a report released by the Texas Coalition for Affordable Power also shows that complaints and inquiries have generally decreased over the past decade.