Pablo Vegas also says it hopes the market will meet the growing demand for state power.
Austin, Texas — The power grid was held for a week when many areas of Texas struggled to outweigh the freeze.
But just a week ago, Elcott, Texas’ Electricity Reliability Council, issued a sober report stating that by the summer of 2026, the state’s electricity demand could surpass supply.
CEO Pablo Vegas joined us within Texas politics and said it was the worst case scenario, with other models showing tight supply but not exceeding demand, so there’s no need to worry or panic.
Vegas said it is important to focus on this trend. That means the state won’t stop growing anytime soon. Ercot also hopes that the market will respond to these “signals” and fill the gap.
“We hope that the market will jump in and start developing supply resources to meet that demand,” Vegas said. “And I think a lot of that demand coming to Texas could potentially allow flexibility, meaning that during a period of shortage they can pull back usage that really helps reliability.”
Ercot also said that electricity demand will almost double by 2030, so there is no doubt that there will be pressure on the state’s infrastructure to maintain it.
Vegas argued that the state has all the power it needs as the grid is controlled by the Texas Legislature rather than the federal government, allowing things to be made faster.
“We are fortunate to live and work in a low-regulation environment. Our ability to connect customers and serve them happens faster in Texas than anywhere else in the country. Also, CEOs can relay CEOs and build out their transmission infrastructure faster.
And now, Vegas asks, as lawmakers are busy introducing and moving forward the bill at the 89th regular legislative meeting.
He said the grid needs more flexibility to the massive loads that are online, and many of those customers have backup generators. When thinking about a big load, think about a data center.
Senate Bill 6 requires businesses to use those generators for a short period of time when demand is high. The bill currently defines a large load as 75 megawatts.
“If we can take advantage of that backup generation during peak periods, it will help us improve reliability quickly in the short term,” he said.
