September 23, 2024

Fiscal Notes Special Edition: The Future of Texas Power – Keeping Up With Demand, Exploring New Horizons

(AUSTIN) — In a special edition of Fiscal Notes, Comptroller researchers examine the energy industry powering Texas homes and businesses and spotlight emerging technologies that could become critical components of the state’s energy expansion.

With a rapidly growing population and economy, it is vital Texas remains powered. Texas set a daily power consumption record six times in May 2024, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas anticipates the state's growth will continue to push power consumption to new highs. This growing demand necessitates a diverse energy portfolio that can meet the needs of our state with reliable and dispatchable power.

“Texas is the world’s eighth-largest economy. That level of economic output requires reliable energy to support the businesses and residents calling our state home,” Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “We can’t expect businesses to continue thriving in Texas if there isn’t an electric grid available to serve them.” 

Natural gas generation remains the reliable form of power generation that can be easily dispatched along existing transmission infrastructure and located near demand centers. The pace of growth in Texas, however, requires that we invest in a diverse portfolio of solutions to meet the needs of our state. Hydrogen, nuclear power and large-scale battery storage are just a few technologies that could emerge as critical components of Texas’ energy portfolio.

Fiscal Notes provides information, original research and balanced analysis on the Texas economy. It’s one of the ways the Comptroller's office strives to assist and inform taxpayers and the people of Texas. Fiscal Notes content is an extension of the Comptroller's constitutional responsibilities to monitor the state's economy and to estimate state government revenues.

Articles and analysis appearing in Fiscal Notes do not necessarily represent the policy or endorsement of the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Space is devoted to a wide variety of topics of Texas interest and general government concern. Fiscal Notes is available online and can be received by subscribing via the Comptroller's website.