Kayla Guo

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I’ll be moderating this event in Dallas next week, featuring Garrett Golding of the Dallas Fed, Sandra Haverlah of the Texas Consumers Association and Michael Webber of UT Austin.

Join us!

texas-power-grid-future-demand.splashthat.com/mar-com

This means I’ll be off the climate + energy beat a bit early.

Thank you to all the energy experts and advocates who so patiently explained the grid to me and answered all my questions. My line is always open!

News! I’m joining @texastribune.org’s politics team starting Monday, covering the Legislature and the state’s top leaders.

#txlege folks and beyond — please add me to your press lists and say hi: kayla.guo@texastribune.org. I’m kaylaguo.19 on Signal.

With Texas facing soaring electricity demand, the politics of energy quietly shift at the Capitol The Legislature has tried to clamp down on renewable energy resources in the past, but many lawmakers are recognizing the need to support all types of generation to meet record demand growth.

With Texas facing massive demand for electricity, the political tides around energy are quietly turning in the country’s biggest oil and gas state.

via @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2025/03/06/t...

On Feb. 20, ERCOT set a new winter peak demand record of 80,154 megawatts.

That breaks the previous record of 78,349 megawatts during Winter Storm Heather in January 2024.

ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas says that the availability of battery storage on the grid has doubled every year since 2021.

"The availability of batteries has been extremely helpful in bridging the episodic periods of time when there is scarcity," he tells the ERCOT Board of Directors.

On virtual power plants in Texas, and their potential to sell power back to the grid and pay everyday Texans for helping out, via @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2025/02/18/t...

Energy demand is soaring in Texas. State efforts to build new gas-powered plants will take years.

But in people's homes and businesses, experts estimate that there are thousands of megawatts of energy waiting to be tapped into — the equivalent of a couple nuclear power plants.

Cook’s home is one of 34 currently enrolled in Bandera Electric’s virtual power plant — a burgeoning type of resource that has the potential to send thousands of megawatts of energy back to the grid in moments of crisis.

On sunny days in the Hill Country, Tom Cook taps an app on his phone and watches the power generated from the solar panels on his roof flow to his home — and out to the state power grid.

“We get the sun beaten down on us, and it’s good to have the sun pay us back,” he said.

🧵

Bill text here: capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/H...

Texas Senate energy bill alert: Sens. Phil King and Charles Schwertner, the Business and Commerce vice chair and chair, have filed SB 6.

It deals with large users (data centers, crypto mines) looking to connect, ERCOT's forecast that power demand will nearly double by 2030 and transmission costs.

Data centers are booming in Texas. What does that mean for the grid? As energy demand surges, largely due to crypto mining facilities, data centers and industrial electrification, Texas officials are looking at how to increase supply and shore up the grid.

Texas is ground zero for a rapid expansion of data centers, including Stargate, the up to $500 billion AI infrastructure venture announced this week.

That's helping drive a massive surge in power demand. Here's what it means for the state grid. @texastribune.org www.texastribune.org/2025/01/24/t...

Watch: Texas House voting on new speaker, setting the stage for 2025 legislative session Dustin Burrows, who represents the GOP establishment, and David Cook, supported by the party’s rightmost faction, are vying for the gavel.

Watch live: The Texas House begins the process to elect a new speaker who will have a dramatic impact on the direction of this year’s lawmaking — and potentially the future of the Legislature. www.texastribune.org/2025/01/14/t...

In the past three years, Texas has spent $3.1 billion to build 50 miles of wall scattershot along the border. State officials have kept many details of the program confidential.

The Texas Tribune has for the first time identified where Texas has built its border wall. 🧵

NEW: Texas has never publicly reported where it has built border wall. So @texastribune.org requested records, interviewed landowners and traveled the Rio Grande to compile a first-of-its-kind look of the $3.1 billion in construction. apps.texastribune.org/features/202...

Texas House panel subpoenas death row inmate Robert Roberson a second time The new subpoena comes after lawmakers say Ken Paxton’s office stalled a previous effort to get Roberson’s legislative testimony about his conviction in “shaken baby” case.

Story via @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2024/12/17/t...

Moody’s statement in issuing the subpoena:

Since then, lawmakers have accused Attorney General Ken Paxton of stonewalling the committee and stalling Roberson’s testimony until the panel disbands when the new legislative session starts in January.

The new subpoena comes after the panel’s first, unprecedented subpoena successfully forced a delay of Roberson’s execution in October.

NEW: The Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee has issued a new subpoena to death row inmate Robert Roberson.

The panel is demanding the criminal justice department produce Roberson for in-person testimony at the Capitol on Friday. #txlege

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Grid operator says Texas is better prepared for extreme cold this winter ERCOT says conditions this winter could spark extreme cold, but additional power supply and continued weatherization efforts will lower the risk of power outages.

Texas’ grid operator warned that the state should prepare for extreme cold this winter, but said the state’s main power grid is better equipped than in previous years to withstand a powerful winter storm. www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/t...

Story @texastribune.org: www.texastribune.org/2024/12/03/t...

☀️ I’ve officially started on the climate beat @texastribune.org!

I’ll cover climate and energy policy out of the #txlege through May.

Grid, energy and enviro folks — please add me to your lists + reach out. I’m at kayla.guo@texastribune.org.

Here's the slide deck to the ERCOT CEO's update: www.ercot.com/files/docs/2...

And to the 2024-25 winter weather update: www.ercot.com/files/docs/2...

You can watch the meeting here: www.ercot.com/committees/b...