One of Texas’ top grid officials warned Friday that the western part of the state could see rolling blackouts within five years if more transmission lines aren’t built.
Woody Rickerson, chief operating officer of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, told the Public Utility Commission on Friday that all their demand forecast scenarios show there would be times when the current transmission system would be overloaded and could cause reliability problems.
“When I say reliability problems, I mean times when people couldn’t have electricity,” Rickerson said.
Rickerson’s warning comes as the fight over a massive $33 billion transmission build-out has become a flashpoint for rural Texas voters ahead of November’s midterm elections. Furious ranchers and landowners have packed town halls, state congressional committee hearings and PUC meetings to voice their frustration with hundreds of miles of 765 kilovolt transmission lines slated to bring more power to oil and gas production sites in the Permian Basin.
