The Texas Senate on Wednesday approved two major bills aimed at building more on-demand power generators such as natural gas-fueled plants in the state. The goal of the bills, according to the sponsors, is to prevent another catastrophic power shortage like the one that killed more than 200 people in 2021 as freezing temperatures knocked power production offline and left millions of Texans shivering in the dark.
Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 6 and Senate Bill 7 by votes of 22-9 and 31-0, respectively. The bills represent a push toward funneling more money to natural gas energy production in the state, which supporters say will improve the electric grid because those generators can essentially come on with the flip of a switch. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick named both bills as priorities earlier in the session.
Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, reminded the other lawmakers on the floor that, keeping the 2021 tragedy in mind, they could “not go home without having come up with a deal, with a package of bills that makes sure that we’re on the path to never seeing something like that happen again.” Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, the lead author on both bills, moved to pass Senate Bill 6 “in memory of the hundreds of Texans that died and the millions of Texans that suffered.”
