Economy Don’t Fence Me In: Lianne’s Story Family, then finances—and opportunity. Those are what brought Lianne Halpern back to tiny Shamrock, a small, dusty stop on the famous Route 66 in the Texas panhandle. Like generations of Americans before, Lianne and her family had traveled west along that route in search of the golden promises of California. Lianne’s father worked in the... January 29, 2026
Energy & Environment Fool Me Twice: Why the Texas Grid is Still Vulnerable to Winter Storms | Part 3: How Texas Can Solve Its Winter Reliability Problem 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... February 12, 2026
Energy & Environment The Explosion of Transmission Costs in ERCOT: Causes, Forecasts, and Policy Solutions KEY POINTS • Transmission costs in ERCOT rose from $1.5 billion in 2010 to over $5 billion in 2024 and could increase to over $12 billion per year by 2033. • After adjusting for inflation and overall rising electricity demand, the average ratepayer in the ERCOT region paid 57% more in transmission charges in 2024... January 8, 2026