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Lawmakers push commission and tabletop exercises to evaluate all‑hazards threats to Texas grid; industry seeks limits and coordination
Summary
Lawmakers proposed a Grid Security Commission and required tabletop exercises to evaluate EMP, GMD, cyber and physical threats to the ERCOT grid; supporters said tested protections exist while utilities sought narrow scope and safeguards.
Two related bills before the committee aim to identify and prepare for ‘all‑hazards’ threats to the Texas electric grid.
Senate Bill 75, sponsored by Senator Hall, would create a Texas Grid Security Commission under the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to evaluate vulnerabilities to the ERCOT grid — including cyberattacks, physical sabotage, geomagnetic disturbances (GMDs) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) — and to develop resiliency standards, a statewide response plan and timelines for implementation. Hall said the commission would mirror a task force created by gubernatorial executive order and would produce assessments and standards while protecting sensitive facility-location information. He cited research and testing work at the Texas Tech Center for Pulse Power and the state’s security commission report as context for the proposal.
Senate Bill 2148, filed by the same author, would require PUC and ERCOT to conduct tabletop exercises with utilities, local law enforcement and other stakeholders to plan and coordinate responses to a damaging attack on critical facilities. It would protect the precise physical locations of critical facilities from public disclosure while requiring authorities to identify roles, responsibilities and recovery procedures in advance.
Supporters included retired military and security specialists, academics, the Secure the Grid coalition and former federal task-force members who argued the state has affordable, tested approaches — such as neutral ground blockers for high-voltage transformers and hardened microgrid designs — that can materially reduce the risk of catastrophic long-duration outages. Witnesses gave cost estimates for protective measures and argued many fixes would reduce day‑to‑day failures as well as address catastrophic risks.
Utilities and industry groups endorsed the idea of coordinated planning but raised concerns. Encore and the Association of Electric Companies of Texas said the bill, as drafted, risks creating a second regulatory layer, granting access to sensitive infrastructure information to additional insiders, and could impose specific retrofit standards tied to a single vendor with limited manufacturing capacity. Municipal utilities urged that the commission include expertise relevant to municipal resilience for non‑energy systems. ERCOT told the committee it conducts GMD planning and other resiliency activities but has no specific EMP standard.
Senator Hall and proponents said the commission would coordinate with existing agencies (PUC, ERCOT, TDEM and others) and that the commission should be able to request additional expertise; authors and resource witnesses emphasized confidentiality and the need to develop realistic timelines and funding pathways. The committee took broad invited and public testimony and left both bills pending.
