POWERING THE FUTURE,
IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT

We have the ability to power homes and businesses with clean, reliable, and affordable energy. We can, at the same time, not only protect the environment from further damage but even repair and improve it.

The February 2021 winter storm overwhelmed virtually every element of the Texas energy system. While the energy market we have constructed generally delivers relatively clean, inexpensive, and reliable energy, the catastrophic February failure caused death, suffering, and economic devastation on a scale previously unimagined. It will affect all of us (though not equally) for a long time to come.

Fixing the electrical system poses great and complex challenges, but not insoluble ones. I’m working with my legislative colleagues, leaders from every sector of the energy industry, environmental experts, consumer advocates, and entrepreneurs and inventors, to get it right. The goal is not merely to avoid another catastrophe. We must upgrade and expand the Texas energy infrastructure, ensure safety and stability, incentivize investment and innovation, provide sufficient dispatchable generation and equitable delivery, and continue the trend of lowering carbon pollution.

Just as we all rely on electrical power, we all rely on clean air and water and rich soil.  I have legislation to address all three, from soil improvement and conservation, to phasing hydrofluorocarbons out of refrigeration equipment, to safer standards for above-ground petrochemical storage tanks.