Research Library

The Texas power grid is infamously disconnected from the rest of the U.S. Its status as an “energy island” can bring both advantages and disadvantages. Two years ago, Winter Storm Uri knocked out power across Texas for days and exposed major reliability concerns. Here, we discuss changes made in the two years since Winter Storm Uri. Is the Texas grid “fixed?”

It’s been two years since Winter Storm Uri swept across Texas, and the question of whether and how to end the isolation of the state’s grid remains. Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn offers a brief history of the standalone Texas grid to explore how the lessons of the past can inform the state’s electric power future.

The short days and winter storms of January have kept drivers off the roads—lowering the demand for gas and increasing the available supply. Yet, oil prices are still rising as the Russia-Ukraine war continues to disrupt global energy markets. We discuss the latest market trends and developments in global energy markets— including the European Union embargo on Russian oil exports and the price caps that G-7 nations are preparing to set on Russian diesel, kerosene and oil.

In 2022, the nation faced fundamental questions about how we govern our economy and society — particularly how we formulate public policy. Here, we share 10 highlights of our work that illustrate our impact from the previous year.

After Winter Storm Uri left millions of Texans without power in February 2021, what steps have been taken to improve the reliability of the Texas grid? This workshop summary from the Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies explores long-term market design reforms that could make a difference.

Europe’s reliance on fuel-switching and demand-rationing — and its need for new natural gas supply sources — will persist through this winter into next year. Using a newly developed interactive dashboard, Center for Energy Studies experts analyze possible winter scenarios using Germany as a case study.

Why does Texas have its own power grid, and how can its history inform the future of electric power in the state? Nonresident scholar Julie Cohn looks beyond the mythology surrounding the standalone Texas grid and finds that reliability and economics — not politics — were the major factors leading to isolation.

Texas has long been an economic leader, but the state lags critically in a major area: health. A new report by M.D. candidate Kushal T. Kadakia and nonresident scholar Anaeze C. Offodile II offers a road map for improving Texas’ health rankings by 10 spots in 10 years.

As the energy transition continues, the viability of our power system is at stake. Nonresident scholar Julie A. Cohn explains the need to prepare for next-generation grid technology if we are to maintain a stable, economical and secure power system.

With conflict on two fronts, and natural gas squarely in the crosshairs, the US LNG industry will be needed to support our allies in both Europe and Asia this winter, write the authors.