The Texas House State Affairs Committee held a hearing May 3 to consider a number of bills, including Senate Bill 7, which is aimed at improving energy grid reliability across the state of Texas.
The issue of the grid was named a priority by both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick for this legislative session. The committee took no action on SB 7 during the May 3 hearing, and the bill has not had a vote since.
According to an independent analysis of SB 7, the legislation helps to "target investment" at dispatchable sources of generation, as well as allocating the cost of unreliability and intermittency to generators who contribute to that unreliability and intermittency.
"SB 7 is good for consumers because it makes renewable energy generators pay for the costs they are imposing on the grid due to their unreliability," Bill Peacock, Energy Alliance policy director, told the Lone Star Standard.
Another bill, Senate Bill 6, was part of the Texas Senate's primary response to grid reliability and was passed out of the upper chamber on April 5. The bill was first referred to the House State Affairs Committee on April 17. On March 9, Patrick and State Sen. Charles Schwertner released a joint statement announcing their support for Senate Bills 6 and 7. These two pieces of legislation are aimed at ensuring a reliable energy grid across Texas and attracting new sources of reliable thermal electricity generation.
On April 5, the Texas Senate passed SB 7 by a unanimous vote of 31-0 . The body also passed SB 6 by a vote of 22-9, with 8 Democrats and 1 Republican opposing.
According to Texas for Fiscal Responsibility, the Texas House has implemented a deadline of May 20 for Committees to take action on any legislation or resolutions originating from the Texas Senate. If a committee does not pass a Senate Bill or Resolution by the end of May 20, it is effectively rejected by the House. The Texas legislature adjourns Sine Die just nine days later on May 29.
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs currently has two hearings scheduled, one on May 17 and the other on May 18. SB 7 is not on the agenda for either hearing.
