AUSTIN, Texas — Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin — along with other Democratic lawmakers from across the state — is asking the Department of Energy (DOE) to include Texas in a new federal program that would expand electric transmission infrastructure to areas that experience outages due to severe weather.

What You Need To Know

  • In a letter, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, is urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to include Texas in a new program that would expand electric transmission infrastructure to areas in need

  • The DOE will designate geographical areas as National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs) if it finds that those areas experience a lack of transmission

  • If NIETC corridors are designated into or nearby the power grid overseen by ERCOT, Texas would receive $4.5 billion in funding to build electric transmission in and around the state

  • Texas lawmakers that joined Casar in signing the letter include Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston

Through the National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (NIETC) designation process, the DOE will designate geographical areas as NIETCs if it finds that those areas experience a lack of transmission. 

The DOE’s list of potential areas to designate currently does not include Texas.

If NIETC corridors are designated into or near the power grid overseen by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), Texas would receive $4.5 billion in funding to build electric transmission in and around the state, according to Casar.

Casar led 21 other members of Congress in writing a letter to the DOE on Monday urging them to establish more transfer capability between ERCOT and its neighbors through the NIETC designation process.

Texas lawmakers that joined Casar in signing the letter include Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston.

Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-California, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Virginia, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-New York, Rep. Valerie Foushee, D-North Carolina, Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, Rep. Robert Garcia, D-California, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-District of Columbia, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Washington, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-California, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pennsylvania, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Illinois, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, and Paul Tonko, D-New York, also joined in signing the letter.

“We understand the significant hurdles to interconnecting Texas, but leaving the state as an energy island is a mistake,” the letter reads. “As we work towards our shared goals it is clear that the key to achieving a reliable, clean, and affordable grid means addressing the critical transmission needs in Texas. We reiterate the importance of an interconnected Texas and urge you to use every tool at your disposal to accomplish that goal.”

Casar introduced the Connect the Grid Act in February to connect the Texas electric grid to surrounding national grids to improve reliability.

ERCOT has already warned of growth in Texas driving demand up and putting significant pressure on the grid in the coming years.