Texas bond elections often pass with low voter turnout and simple majorities, driving up local debt as a result. Raising voter approval thresholds could protect taxpayers and ensure a stronger consensus for public spending. Key points: Even though tax relief has been funded at the state level, increased debt at the local level has led...
Part 1: The Evolution of the Texas Grid since Winter Storm Uri in 2021 As the five-year anniversary of Winter Storm Uri approaches, this analysis by Dr. Brent Bennett examines whether the ERCOT grid is truly prepared for the next major winter storm. Despite widespread perception that the grid has become more resilient, the data...
Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem Five years after Winter Storm Uri, the ERCOT grid is still not ready for the next major winter storm. The first two installments of this series showed that demand has grown more than 20% since 2021 while firm generation capacity has barely budged, and the...