Hill Country Energy subregional commission presses TCEQ, PUC and ERCOT over battery storage safety and oversight
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Summary
Commissioner Paces reported that TCEQ met with the Hill Country Energy Sub Regional Planning Commission and the commission is pressing the Public Utilities Commission and ERCOT for coordination and clearer oversight of battery energy storage systems (BESS), and urged public participation in pending state legislation.
Commissioner Rich Paces updated Kerr County Commissioners on the Hill Country Energy Sub-Regional Planning Commission (HCESRPC) work and said attendees pressed TCEQ and are seeking the Public Utilities Commission of Texas and ERCOT to take part in coordination meetings about battery energy storage systems.
Paces said TCEQ sent a six-person team to a recent meeting, “and I think they're taking our concerns very seriously.” The commission’s discussion with TCEQ lasted roughly two hours followed by a 30-minute public question period; Paces said a recording and meeting materials are posted at www.hcesrpc.com.
Paces said he and Commissioner Holt had a separate exchange with ERCOT staff; a letter from ERCOT’s assistant general counsel offered to answer further questions but stated ERCOT is not an agency required to coordinate in the same way as state agencies. Paces said that complicates the commission’s efforts to get all decision-makers at the same table. “There is no doubt that Public Utilities Commission is a state agency. So, they are obligated under chapter 391 to meet with us,” Paces said, referencing the state coordination requirement discussed by the commission.
Paces said the HCESRPC sent a third invitation to the Public Utilities Commission asking it to attend a May 6 coordination meeting in Kendall County and to bring ERCOT. The commission also circulated a summary of key bills pending in the Texas Legislature related to BESS and grid siting; he specifically noted Representative Wes Verdel’s House Bill 1378 was scheduled for a hearing this week and asked residents to consider testifying.
Commissioners and members of the public raised concerns about cybersecurity, thermal-runaway fires at battery installations, emergency response and groundwater contamination from potential fires. Paces said his commission will press regulators for public, recorded answers to basic questions about which agencies approve siting and how federal subsidies affect project development. “We're just gonna hit them with a bunch of questions and…ask why they're not approving the specific locations. And if not, then who is?” Paces said.
Resident Helen Hurd suggested contacting the U.S. Department of the Interior’s hotline as another avenue for drawing attention to concerns; Paces asked Hurd to forward the link for follow-up.
No regulatory action or county ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the discussion was reported as an update and a call for public engagement in the legislative process.
