February’s catastrophic winter storm wreaked havoc on our electricity system. Millions of our friends and neighbors went days without power and lost access to safe drinking water as a result.

A lot has been made about the energy resources that didn’t keep our lights on but, very little is being discussed about a set of technologies that can make our electricity system more reliable and flexible while saving consumers money.

Energy technologies known as distributed energy resources benefit all customers by reducing energy demand when the electricity system is most stressed. They also allow utilities and consumers to better manage the use of energy, making the system more resilient in the face of extreme conditions.

You’ve seen many of these distributed energy resources before, like rooftop solar, battery storage, smart thermostats, and electric vehicles. There are still others that are primarily used by large energy consumers.

What you may not know is that the current rules governing Texas’ energy planning don’t recognize the benefits of these technologies to the electric system.

Click here to call on legislators to support an affordable and reliable energy system!

“Our Solar + Battery Backup Powered Us Through the Storm”

How do Distributed Energy Resources work?

Distributed energy resources, like rooftop solar and battery storage, generate and store energy at the customer site resulting in a more decentralized grid that is more resilient to withstand weather conditions and disasters by producing energy where it is needed and bringing it online when it is needed. They also keep energy affordable by bringing lower cost resources online during times of high demand.

Other types of distributed energy resources include programs and technologies that help customers reduce both overall energy usage and energy use at high stress times for the system. These include energy efficiency upgrades, such as improving home insulation to reduce overall heating and cooling needs, or programs that customers can voluntarily participate in to reduce energy consumption at critical times, when electricity prices spike.

If there is one lesson to learn from February’s electricity system failure it is this:

We can’t afford not to use all of the resources at our disposal to keep the lights on for Texans.

Here's how you can learn more about how TAEBA is working to keep the lights on.