Texas is growing. Projections by the Comptroller of Public Accounts indicate that our Gross State Product will double in the next twenty years from $887.75 billion to $1.61 trillion. Similarly, the Texas State Data Center projects a 2030 population as high as 41 million; nearly double our current population. A growing Texas needs affordable and reliable energy and a robust infrastructure that includes water, highways, pipelines, and electricity, along with a clean environment.
The growing Texas economy and population will demand more energy to cool and heat homes and sustain the growing manufacturing base. This energy must be both reliable and affordable if it is to continue to underpin Texan's quality of life and the state's strong economic growth. Conservation, energy efficiency and demand-side management are all tools that must be expanded. However, according to estimates by the Electric Reliability
Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the Public Utilities Commission (PUC), our current power infrastructure is insufficient to meet future demand. Beginning with the summer of 2009, reserve margins could dip to unreliable levels. It is imperative to meet future demand in a manner that is mindful of both free markets and the environment.
On August 6, Rep. Phil King, TCCRI Board Member, addressed the 2008 GOPAC State and Local Summit regarding electricity prices. His presentation explains rising demand and the benefits of wholesale and retail electricity competition.
- Meeting Future Energy Needs: Final Report of the TCCRI Energy &
Environment Task Force - The price of electricity and gasoline should not determine whether or not Texas, and indeed, the nation engage in a reasoned and serious national debate about energy and the environment. (January 2009) - Drill Like Texas - Opinion-Editorial by State Rep. Myra Crownover in the New York Sun (August 8, 2008)
- Time is now for energy independence - Opinion-Editorial by Greg Wortham, Executive Director of the West Texas Wind Energy Consortium
- Pickens Plan - T. Boone Pickens makes an important argument for the future of our state and
nation: America is addicted to foreign oil. It's an addiction that
threatens our economy and our national security. The addiction has worsened
for decades and now it's reached a point of crisis. In 1970, we imported 24%
of our oil. Today it's nearly 70% and growing.
Take action for America's energy future today by visiting the Pickens Plan
Web site at www.pickensplan.com