| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to a reliability assessment of the ERCOT power grid and certificates of public convenience and necessity for certain transmission projects.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 1281 would require the PUC use, as a criterion to certify a transmission project, a comparison of the estimated cost of the transmission project for consumers and the estimated cost savings for consumers that may result from the transmission project.
SB 1281 would allow an electric utility to not amend the utility’s certificate of public convenience when constructing a new transmission line if the line is 3 miles or less, the property owners directly affected by the construction of the line give their consent and all rights-of-way necessary for construction of the transmission line have been purchased.
SB 1281 would require the PUC to consider the historical load, forecasted load growth, additional load currently seeking interconnection and security constrained optimal power flows for a reasonable range of power generation dispatch scenarios, including reliability limitations in serving load during high and low renewable generation output when considering the need for additional service.
SB 1281 would also require ERCOT to annually assess the ERCOT region power grid's reliability during extreme weather scenarios.
In Texas, energy consumers ultimately pay for transmission facilities. SB 1281 would establish a comparison of the estimated cost to consumers of a transmission project as well as the estimated cost savings for consumers. SB 1281 would also mandate annual extreme weather reliability assessments for the EROCT power grid. As no liberty principles are impacted, Texas Action remains neutral on SB 1281.