Bernard L. Weinstein is the associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute and an adjunct professor of business economics in the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
To ensure long-term grid resiliency for our fast-growing economy, ERCOT needs to adopt a pricing mechanism, such as a capacity charge, that acknowledges the value of base-load power plants.
The Texas power grid has come perilously close to its generating capacity of about 78 gigawatts. With Texas’ population growing more than twice as fast as the nation’s, and dozens of corporations relocating or expanding in the state every year, the demand for power will continue to increase.
As three-way trade has accelerated over the past quarter century, Texas has become the heart of NAFTA, reaping huge gains in terms of jobs, income and tax base. But just as Texas currently benefits more than any other state from NAFTA trade, we also stand to lose the most if NAFTA goes away.
We’d all like to be able to ride a sleek bullet train from Dallas to Houston in 90 minutes, but in our state, the economics simply don’t add up.
