
In this roundtable, host Michaela with Josh Rhodes and Matt Bombs dissect the surge in Texas electricity costs, pinpointing rapid demand growth from data centers, AI, electrified buildings and transport, and the continued reliance on natural‑gas generation whose fuel price volatility inflates rates. They examine utility investment plans—trillions nationally and billions in Texas—focused on grid modernization, reliability, and capacity, while questioning which projects truly merit the cost to ratepayers. The discussion also highlights emerging cost‑causation models, such as tech firms like Microsoft and Meta funding dedicated generation assets, and compares Texas’s ERCOT market structure to Alberta’s approach to sharing infrastructure expenses.

The episode examines Texas’s 2021 Winter Storm Uri, which knocked out half of ERCOT’s capacity and caused massive blackouts. While the market design intended to let extreme events impose financial penalties on generators that failed to hedge, regulators intervened—forcing a...

In this episode, Andrew Reimers, deputy director of the ERCOT Independent Market Monitor at Potomac Economics, explains how ERCOT’s market design—particularly operating reserves, scarcity pricing, and the December 5 real‑time co‑optimization—shapes price signals that drive new generation investment in Texas....

Episode #88 of Solar Surge examines the rapid growth of utility‑scale solar in Texas, highlighting a Dallas Fed report that shows solar capacity added in 2025 matched 2024 levels despite tariffs and shifting federal policies. The show also discusses a...

In this episode, Matt Boms and Kurt Heim discuss how Texas’s winter grid strain is driven largely by outdated electric resistance heating in homes and apartments. Heim explains that resistance heaters waste electricity, while modern heat pumps can deliver up...