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SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Our food and water supplies, communications, |
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banking, hospitals, law enforcement, and countless critical |
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functions depend on the electric grid, and its protection is vital |
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to homeland security; and |
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WHEREAS, In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri provided a harsh |
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reminder of the importance of the Texas power grid as |
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weather-related failures left many residents and businesses |
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without access to heat; in April and June, the Electric Reliability |
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Council of Texas responded to power generation outages by issuing |
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requests for citizens to temporarily reduce energy use; and |
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WHEREAS, Although more work remains to be done in preventing |
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energy shortages, Texas is fortunate to have its own power grid; the |
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state is thus capable of hardening its own electric system to ensure |
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reliable electricity in any environment for residents, businesses, |
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and state and local government, as well as for U.S. military bases; |
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for example, during the 87th Regular Session, the Texas Legislature |
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passed Senate Bill 3, which requires power generation companies in |
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Texas to prepare their facilities for extreme weather; and |
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WHEREAS, Protecting the grid from all threats would provide |
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substantial economic benefits; as the federal government closes |
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military bases around the country, Texas bases would likely survive |
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closure because of their enhanced energy security; moreover, |
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companies considering relocation or expansion would clearly find |
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the assurance of secure power immensely valuable and look to the |
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Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, The protection of the electric grid is essential to |
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the security and continued prosperity of our state and nation, and |
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Texas is prepared to do its part to ensure that citizens can rely |
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completely on the power system that sustains our society; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas, |
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3rd Called Session, hereby request the lieutenant governor and the |
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speaker of the house of representatives to create a joint interim |
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committee to study the security of the Texas electric grid and its |
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capacity generation capabilities; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee include members of the Electric |
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Reliability Council of Texas and other relevant stakeholder groups; |
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and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee submit a full report, including |
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findings and recommendations, to the 88th Texas Legislature in |
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January 2023; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the committee's proceedings and operations be |
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governed by such general rules and policies for interim committees |
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as the 87th Texas Legislature may adopt. |