Following the winter storm top American energy authorities have issued suggestions for a system reform in Texas

As they investigated the roots of the state’s winter energy problem, federal and North American energy authorities made suggestions for strengthening the Texas system on Thursday.State lawmakers and energy regulators have already worked to fulfill some of the plans, but not all of them, implying that state officials may have considerably more work to do to ensure dependability.The research highlighted freezing as the primary cause of winter outages, as well as issues with natural gas fuel supply and misuse of existing resources.

Mandating reliability requirements and implementing related $1 million-per-day fines for poor generator winter ization were among the proposals made by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and North American Electric Reliability Corporation. It was also proposed that funds be made available for natural gas winter ization and that essential natural gas infrastructure be identified.

The Texas Legislature approved legislation this year mandating the formation of a committee to map key natural gas infrastructure. However, energy policy experts have criticized what they consider to be insufficient consequences for noncompliance with winter ization regulations.While FERC does not have control over the market structure of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, Texas’ grid operator, it does have a voice in its reliability requirements, according to Doug Lewin, a Texas-based energy policy specialist.

FERC Chairman Richard Glick stated at the study’s presentation on Thursday morning that the weatherization requirements specified in the report will not be “ignored or toned down.”“The topic we are discussing today actually is a question of life and death,” Glick explained, emphasizing the seriousness of the issue.