Texas energy grid resilience in the face of natural disasters

The massive blackouts caused by Hurricane Beryl are raising questions about the resilience of the Texas energy grid and prompting consumers to invest in distributed generation systems.

Share:

Résilience du réseau énergétique texan

Hurricane Beryl revealed major vulnerabilities in the East Texas power grid.
On July 8, the storm caused outages affecting nearly three million customers in the state, with around 1 million remaining without power as a result of the storm.
Faced with this situation, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas to investigate the reasons for the extended restoration times.
A study conducted by the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan-Mikey Leland School of Public Affairs revealed that 26% of respondents are considering purchasing a generator or improving the maintenance of their existing equipment.

Network resilience efforts called into question

The Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance (TAEBA) on July 18 called on Texas leaders to re-evaluate their approach to grid resilience.
Matt Boms, executive director of TAEBA, said that solar panels, battery storage and other energy resources located in homes and businesses can bring significant relief to Texans disconnected from the grid.
However, he criticized utility companies for discouraging these solutions while investing heavily in expensive and unreliable gas generators when needed.
CenterPoint Energy, which experienced the largest outages with around 2.6 million customers affected, was unable to respond in time for this publication.

Evolution of distributed generation resources

In December, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) reported that its annual estimates for distributed generation resources have increased almost sixfold over the past seven years, from 650 MW in 2015 to 3,850 MW in 2022.
The biggest increase came after the deadly winter storm of February 2021, which left around four million customers in the dark for several days.
Joshua Rhodes, a researcher at the University of Texas Energy Institute and non-resident scholar at Columbia University, explained that sales of backup systems typically increase after disasters such as the California wildfires.
According to him, only solar systems would have an impact on grid prices, as running a backup generator on natural gas is too expensive and these are generally not allowed to backfeed the grid in residential systems.

Reactions and outlook

For large-scale solar power, the increase in solar production since Hurricane Beryl has generally coincided with lower real-time marginal rental prices at the Houston Hub, compared with the averages for the corresponding dates from 2019 to 2023.
Joshua Rhodes also pointed out that solar systems without batteries do not generate electricity when the grid is down, limiting their resilience in the event of an outage.
Solar systems coupled with batteries can insulate a home and provide some resilience, but the storage cost required to cool a home entirely in the Houston summer remains high.
Fossil fuel generators, on the other hand, can provide a large amount of electricity but require a constant supply of fuel.
Those connected to the natural gas grid are more convenient, but generate a lot of noise and local air pollution if numerous in a small area.
The vulnerability of the Texas energy grid to natural disasters is prompting consumers and authorities alike to reconsider distributed energy solutions.
The question remains whether these measures will be sufficient to strengthen the grid’s resilience in the face of climate change and increasingly frequent extreme weather events.

Nearly USD92bn will be invested by major American and international groups in new data centres and energy infrastructure, responding to the surge in electricity demand linked to the rise of artificial intelligence.
Nouakchott has endured lengthy power interruptions for several weeks, highlighting the financial and technical limits of the Mauritanian Electricity Company as Mauritania aims to widen access and green its mix by 2030.
Between 2015 and 2024, four multilateral climate funds committed nearly eight bn USD to clean energy, attracting private capital through concessional terms while Africa and Asia absorbed more than half of the volume.
The Global Energy Policies Hub shows that strategic reserves, gas obligations, cybersecurity and critical-mineral policies are expanding rapidly, lifting oil coverage to 98 % of world imports.
According to a report by Ember, the Chinese government’s appliance trade-in campaign could double residential air-conditioner efficiency gains in 2025 and trim up to USD943mn from household electricity spending this year.
Washington is examining sectoral taxes on polysilicon and drones, two supply chains dominated by China, after triggering Section 232 to measure industrial dependency risks.
The 2025-2034 development plan presented by Terna includes strengthening Sicily’s grid, new interconnections, and major projects to support the region’s growing renewable energy capacity.
Terna and NPC Ukrenergo have concluded a three-year partnership in Rome aimed at strengthening the integration of the Ukrainian grid into the pan-European system, with an in-depth exchange of technological and regulatory expertise.
GE Vernova has secured a major contract to modernise the Kühmoos substation in Germany, enhancing grid reliability and integration capacity for power flows between Germany, France and Switzerland.
The National Energy System Operator forecasts electricity demand to rise to 785 TWh by 2050, underlining the need to modernise grids and integrate more clean energy to support the UK’s energy transition.
Terna has signed a guarantee agreement with SACE and the European Investment Bank to finance the Adriatic Link project, totalling approximately €1bn ($1.08bn) and validated as a major transaction under Italian regulations.
India unveils a series of reforms on oil and gas contracts, introducing a fiscal stability clause to enhance the sector’s attractiveness for foreign companies and boost its growth ambitions in upstream energy.
The European Commission is launching a special fund of EUR2.3bn ($2.5bn) to boost Ukraine’s reconstruction and attract private capital to the energy and infrastructure sectors.
Asia dominated global new renewable energy capacity in 2024 with 71% of installations, while Africa recorded limited growth of only 7.2%, according to the latest annual report from IRENA.
US President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act dramatically changes energy investment rules, imposing restrictions on renewables while favouring hydrocarbons, according to a recent report by consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie.
On July 8, 2025, the Senate validated the Gremillet bill, aimed at structuring France's energy transition with clear objectives for nuclear power, renewable energies, and energy renovation.
Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, and Peru significantly increase renewable electricity production, reaching nearly 70% of the regional electricity mix, according to a recent Wood Mackenzie study on Latin America's energy sector.
The Canadian government announces an investment of more than $40mn to fund 13 energy projects led by Indigenous communities across the country, aiming to improve energy efficiency and increase local renewable energy use.
The German Ministry of Economy plans to significantly expand aid aimed at reducing industrial electricity costs, increasing eligible companies from 350 to 2,200, at an estimated cost of €4bn ($4.7bn).
A major electricity blackout paralyzed large parts of the Czech Republic, interrupting transport and essential networks, raising immediate economic concerns, and highlighting the vulnerability of energy infrastructures to unforeseen technical incidents.