Entergy Texas files for first phase of its grid resilience plan
Image courtesy Entergy Texas
Entergy Texas, which provides electricity to approximately 512,000 customers in 27 counties, has filed for approval of phase one of its Texas Future Ready Resilience Plan to ‘harden’ the grid.
Filed with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the investments included in phase one are expected to decrease future storm restoration costs by approximately $129 million and reduce the duration of power outages following significant weather events by 4.5 billion minutes over the next fifty years.
Extreme weather has become more frequent and severe in Texas. Entergy Texas cites the National Centers for Environmental Information, which finds 179 extreme weather events in Texas from 1980 to June 2024, including hurricanes and winter storms.
These extreme events, coupled with an increased dependence on electricity to power homes, businesses, and essential services, underscore the need for an even more resilient electrical grid.
Commenting in a release was Eliecer Viamontes, president and CEO of Entergy Texas: “The increasing frequency and cost of storm restoration, the increasing impact from prolonged outages and recently passed state legislation demonstrate that now is the optimal time to pursue key grid hardening investments.
“While Entergy Texas has historically invested in the reliability and resiliency of its generation, transmission and distribution systems, significant and emerging circumstances support the need to accelerate the pace of these investments. Our comprehensive Resiliency Plan creates stronger communities while managing customer bill impacts.”
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Phase one of the plan is a multiyear proposal that includes six key measures to prevent, withstand, and recover from damage imposed by significant storm events:
- Distribution feeder hardening: Rebuilding main feeder lines to a storm-resilient overhead design standard.
- Lateral hardening: Rebuilding neighborhood distribution lines to a storm-resilient overhead design.
- Transmission rebuild: Replacing poles with higher wind-rated structures and equipment on high-voltage lines.
- Lateral undergrounding: Undergrounding select overhead neighborhood lines.
- Substation control house remediation: Hardening substations by upgrading roofs to meet wind standards.
- Targeted vegetation management: Proactive inspections and trimming to mitigate vegetation-related outages and wildfire risks.
The accelerated hardening projects included in Phase one total a $335 million investment in the Southeast Texas power grid. Entergy Texas plans to seek $198 million in non-ERCOT grants from the Texas Energy Fund to help finance these projects.
The company has also applied for federal dollars under the Department of Energy’s Grid Innovation and Resilience Partnerships programme to invest more than $107 million to strengthen the Port Arthur grid, a portion of which would offset the cost of hardening projects included in Phase one.
Said Thurman Bartie, mayor for the City of Port Arthur: “The City of Port Arthur holds dear the commitment by Entergy Texas in our joint partnership to harden the Southeast Texas power grid and build a more resilient energy future for our community.
Added Roy West, mayor for the City of Beaumont: “We are grateful that Entergy Texas is planning for the future and staying a ‘STEP Ahead’ of growing electrical needs in Beaumont.
“Because of Entergy Texas’ hard work, Beaumont and the entire Southeast Texas area continue to have a bright energy future.”
The accelerated resiliency efforts proposed in Entergy Texas’ Resiliency Plan are a key component of the company’s Southeast Texas Energy Plan, also known as the STEP Ahead plan.
This strategic initiative aims to add 1,600MW of generation capacity to the Southeast Texas power grid by 2028 by keeping rates affordable, building more generation, investing in a diverse mix of generation resources, and strengthening the grid to withstand extreme weather.
