TEXAS — A group of Texas Republicans on Wednesday introduced a resolution opposing a Democrat-led bill that would connect the Texas electric grid to national power grids.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas Republicans drafted a resolution to oppose the Connect the Grid Act, a bill led by Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, that would require Texas to connect to the national power grids and require additional oversight from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
  • Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood, wrote the resolution and Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, John Carter, R-Round Rock, Keith Self, R-McKinney, Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, and Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, cosponsored it
  • Calling back to the 2021 Texas winter freeze that left Texans without power, Casar said Republicans are founding the “pro-blackouts caucus”

  • Weber criticized the bill, calling the attempt to connect the grid to the rest of the U.S. "communist-style thinking"

The resolution says the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) “is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, rather falling under the jurisdiction of the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Texas Legislature.”

Rep. Randy Weber, R-Friendswood, wrote the resolution and Reps. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, Pat Fallon, R-Sherman, John Carter, R-Round Rock, Keith Self, R-McKinney, Michael Burgess, R-Lewisville, and Tony Gonzales, R-San Antonio, cosponsored it.

“In Texas, we proudly maintain our own electric grid—overseen by Texans, not the federal government—and we intend to keep it that way,” Weber said. “Some of my Democrat colleagues had a brilliant idea to lasso the state into the national electric grid, filled with its own challenges and failures. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas’ grid stays in the hands of Texans and not bureaucrats sitting in Washington.”

Rep. Greg Casar and fellow Democrats Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, introduced a bill in February that would require Texas to connect to the national power grids and require additional oversight from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)

The Connect the Grid Act was introduced on the third anniversary of the February 2021 winter storm, which left Texans in the dark and without power in freezing temperatures when the ERCOT grid nearly failed entirely. The official death toll from the incident is 246.

Casar said Republicans are founding the “pro-blackouts caucus” through their opposition of the bill.

He also noted that the East Texas region that Weber represents is not connected to ERCOT. That region did not lose power during the 2021 winter storm.

Through the Connect the Grid Act, ERCOT would still be in charge of running the Texas power grid, along with Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) and the Texas Legislature.

In a post to X, formerly Twitter, Weber criticized the bill, calling the attempt to connect the grid to the rest of the U.S. "communist-style thinking."

"Federalizing Texas's electric grid = Typical government bureaucrat-style thinking, even communist-style thinking - the big, overblown government needs to control everything. I will continue to fight to ensure that Texas' grid stays in the hands of Texans & not bureaucrats sitting in Washington," Weber said.