Texas Grid Will Stay Independent Despite Southern Spirit Transmission Line Deal
(Why be drug down with the rest of Amerika’s faltering infrastructure? - DD)
In a forced response to the media and political uproar, Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) Chairman Thomas Gleeson has set the record straight on the Southern Spirit Transmission Line, assuring Texans that their power grid will remain independent and free from federal control. This clarification comes after a wave of misleading headlines and political gloating, both from Washington and Austin, suggesting that Texas’ long-guarded energy independence was about to be compromised.
The uproar began when mainstream media outlets and politicians gleefully proclaimed that the Southern Spirit project, a 320-mile high-voltage line connecting Texas to other states, signaled the beginning of federal control over Texas’ energy. These headlines painted a picture of Texas’ grid, operated by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), finally being “reined in” by federal oversight. Federal politicians cheered the supposed shift as a victory for national regulation, while even some Texas lawmakers hinted at ERCOT’s independence coming to an end.
However, in an official statement, Chairman Gleeson quashed these rumors, making it clear that Texas’ grid will remain fully independent from federal oversight. “The Texas grid will remain independent from the national grid and would not be subject to any federal…