Congress questions Texas officials about power grid failure

DALLAS (AP) — Congress is looking into last month’s massive and deadly power outages across Texas and questioning officials who oversee the state’s energy industry and electric grid.

A House Energy subcommittee hearing Wednesday provided little new insight into the crisis, however, and often turned into a debate about the relative merits of fossil fuels and renewables.

Democrats on the panel said climate change is making such extreme weather events more common, and they argued for more renewable energy. Republicans said coal, natural gas and nuclear energy are more reliable than wind and solar and must remain a major part of the mix.