The Biden administration announced it would put $1.5 billion toward several projects to improve the national power grid, including one meant to connect Texas’s isolated grid with those in the southeastern power markets for the first time.
It comes after months of pressure from Democratic lawmakers to connect the state’s grid, run by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, to other major electric grids within the United States to ensure reliable electricity amid natural disasters.
Texas is the only state in the contiguous U.S. to have its own self-contained power grid, serving around 90% of the state’s electricity needs.
Republicans have touted the state’s grid, as it is not subject to federal jurisdiction from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. However, concerns have grown over the reliability of ERCOT when not being connected to the broader grid during severe weather.
During Winter Storm Uri in 2021, Texas saw record-low temperatures, as well as snow and ice, leading ERCOT to lose control of the power supply. Power outages lasted for days, and 246 people died as a result of the cold snap. Approximately two-thirds of the deaths were caused by hypothermia, according to the Texas Tribune.
Research found that if the state’s grid had been connected to the national grid, up to 80% of the blackouts that occurred during the winter storm could have been avoided.
In an attempt to connect ERCOT with the rest of the country, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced the Connect the Grid Act in February, with the support of more than a dozen House colleagues, as well as Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).
The Texas Democrat said at the time that the legislation would allow the state to be able to draw power from other states when needed and sell excess energy that is not being used.
“We can keep the lights on, and make sure that no family is left stranded in a mass power outage again,” Casar said. “The federal government has a responsibility to deliver power to the people.”
Now, the Biden administration will be providing funding for the Southern Spirit project, which will build a 320-mile-long, high-voltage direct current line connecting ERCOT to grids in the southeast, including the Midcontinent Independent System Operator South and Southern Company.
The project is expected to provide around 3,000 megawatts of capacity while creating 850 construction jobs and 305 permanent operation jobs.
It is one of four projects that have been dedicated funding by the Department of Energy and are expected to boost grid capacity by 7,100 megawatts in Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Specifically, one project is to construct a new power substation in Maine and a 111-mile-long transmission line to connect it to the larger grid in New England.
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A second would build a 400-mile-long transmission line in eastern Oklahoma, transmitting 1,900 megawatts of affordable wind and solar energy.
The third involves constructing a 108-mile-long transmission line to deliver 1,000 megawatts of capacity in New Mexico to help meet energy demand for semiconductor, battery manufacturing, and data center facilities in the region.