Federal Government Feud Stalled Electric Grid Readiness in Houston
The U.S. Department of Energy Denied Houston Power Grid Upgrade, Lawmakers Say it’s Politically Motivated
A year before Hurricane Beryl left millions of Texas residents without power, the Biden Department of Energy rejected a $100 million application from CenterPoint energy to strengthen electric wires and poles to guard against hurricane force winds.
In the aftermath of the storm, Ed Hirs, a University of Houston energy economist, laid out the potential motivation for rejecting the application. In a statement to E&E News Hirs stated that “There’s such an anti-fossil-fuel initiative with the Biden administration that anything that might be remotely supporting the industry, second or third or fourth degree, gets short shrift.”
Now, Texas lawmakers are demanding answers from the administration and relaying the frustrations of Texas residents. When asked by Journalists from Texas Politics about the potential motivation, Representatives Michael McCloud and Randy Weber called out the administration directly:
“They are doing everything they can to fight against the US homegrown energy industry,” said Rep. Michael McCloud.
“No doubt about it.” said Rep. Randy Weber when asked whether he thought the denial was politically motivated.
The report by Texas Politics also delves into the feud between federal agencies and the Lone Star State:
“President Biden has been at odds with Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas legislature over their rebuking of his failed immigration agenda, or “border crisis,” and now it appears as if he has targeted CenterPoint Energy, denying their $100 million request from the Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships (GRIP) to fix Houston’s ailing power grid.”