Following energy and power news in Texas can be dizzying.

In February 2021, widespread outages left hundreds dead, caused more than $100 billion in property damage, and inflicted untold psychological trauma on Texans. As a result, interest in “the grid” surged, even though the tragedy during Winter Storm Uri went far beyond the grid. 

That’s why I’m starting the Texas Power Podcast with support from Renewable Energy World. Please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

On the Texas Power Podcast, we’ll dive deeply into the history, culture, and political economy of the energy industry in Texas to figure out how we got where we are. We’ll explore issues and proposals before policymakers at all levels of government. And we’ll talk to people with deep expertise and unique perspectives on the intersection of energy policy, technology, and markets.

Episode 1 of the Texas Power Podcast exemplifies this approach. It features Pat Wood, the former Public Utility Commission of Texas and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chair, and current CEO of Hunt Energy Network.

Wood discussed the energy market redesign effort underway in Texas, the moment former Texas Gov. George W. Bush was first drawn to renewables, and the enabling technologies that can support a more resilient grid.

We talked about a range of issues that will help set the framework for future episodes. First and foremost, we’ll explore how Texas is dealing with the fallout from Uri—and whether the state’s actions will ensure it never happens again. We’ll dive into issues and controversies surrounding the ERCOT market, deregulation (aka restructuring), renewables, storage, energy efficiency, transmission, nuclear power, demand flexibility, electric vehicles, and more.

We’ll ask, what constitutes effective regulation? What’s the proper balance of regulation, competition and markets? Can an energy-only market work? How high can we go with renewables, and what is the role of alternative sources like coal and gas? What role should the demand side play in our solutions? How much will consumers pay for various policy proposals, and are those costs justified?

We’ll also look at the impact of power production on human health. Are there solutions that can improve reliability, reduce costs, and lower emissions? This is especially relevant in Texas, where thousands die each year from pollution, and both Dallas and Houston have reached the stage of severe nonattainment with air quality standards and. 

This podcast is intended for everyone interested in, and affected by, energy in Texas. I hope you’ll subscribe to the Texas Power Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Meet Doug Lewin, host of the Texas Power Podcast

Doug Lewin is a Renewable Energy World contributor and host of the Texas Power Podcast from Renewable Energy World.

Lewin founded Stoic Energy in 2018 and is proud to serve clients working to accelerate the use of clean energy and increase equity and justice.

Previously, Doug led government and regulatory affairs work for CLEAResult, an energy efficiency program implementer for over 250 utilities in 40 states and provinces.

Lewin was the founding Executive Director of the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER). He also served as legislative staff for three different elected officials for five years in the Texas House and Senate, primarily on energy, environment, and climate issues.

Doug earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and is a proud husband and father of four children.

Texas Power Podcast Episode List

Episode 8: Texas would be ‘crazy to penalize renewables,’ CPS Energy CEO Rudy Garza says

Aired May 11, 2023

Rudy Garza, CEO of CPS Energy, the nation’s largest integrated municipal power and gas utility, doesn’t mince words when it comes to the effort by some policymakers in Texas to punish renewables for the broad failures during Winter Storm Uri.

Garza became CEO a little over a year ago but has deep experience in Texas energy. And as one of the largest generators and customers in ERCOT, CPS Energy has a unique position in the market.

Garza, while recognizing the need for more dispatchable resources in the ERCOT market, opposes efforts to penalize renewables, a current legislative focus.

“I think it’s crazy to penalize renewables. We need every megawatt on the system that we can get our hands on,” Garza said on Episode 8 of the Texas Power Podcast. 

Episode 7: 1-on-1 with Vistra CEO Jim Burke

Aired April 20, 2023

The energy transition is daunting to incumbent energy companies— albeit in very different ways.

Vistra CEO Jim Burke joined Episode 7 of the Texas Power Podcast with Doug Lewin to discuss how the largest electricity generator in Texas is navigating the energy transition and adjusting to a shifting ERCOT market design.

Burke discussed the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act, his ‘technology agnosticism,’ and Vistra’s current focus on reliability. He also explored what the ongoing and impending energy transition means for a company that has traditionally relied on fossil fuels and the need to move away from an either/or, overly-simplistic debate in regard to the use of natural gas and renewables.  

Episode 6: A Cambrian explosion of distributed energy in Texas

Aired February 9, 2023

Texans can now get paid for supporting the grid with their solar panels and batteries as part of a new virtual power plant pilot project.

What happens next could lead to rapid deployment of resilient and clean distributed energy resources across the state.

But realizing that potential won’t be easy. One of the biggest hurdles is customer engagement.

Octopus Energy US CEO Michael Lee joined the Texas Power Podcast from Renewable Energy World to discuss his extensive background in energy, his company’s participation in the VPP pilot, and his vision for bringing the benefits of distributed energy to the masses. 

Episode 5: Geothermal energy and the revival of a forgotten renewable

Aired Jan. 5, 2023

Tim Latimer was working as a drilling engineer in South Texas when he couldn’t shake a newfound curiosity. 

Latimer was new to the oil and gas industry, and in 2012, the industry was at the height of the shale revolution. He was tasked with navigating the challenges created by high drilling temperatures in the Eagle Ford Shale region. 

As he did more research Latimer discovered the world of geothermal energy. Fast forward a decade later and his company, Fervo Energy, is leading the revival of what Latimer calls a forgotten renewable. 

Latimer joined the Texas Power Podcast from Renewable Energy World to discuss his background, geothermal’s resurgence, and the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on the industry. 

Episode 4: Drilling for renewables in Texas

Aired December 15, 2022

As if it wasn’t enough that Texas has some of the best wind resource, best solar resource, and largest shale oil and gas deposits in the world, the Lone Star State also has a great geothermal resource. Unlike the others resources, though, geothermal is yet to be tapped. That’s about to change.

The Texas Geothermal Alliance launched last year and has grown to nearly 50 members including major oil and gas companies, power generators, and pure-play geothermal companies. 

On Episode 4 of the Texas Power Podcast, host Doug Lewin is joined by Barry Smitherman, TxGEA’s chairman and president. Barry’s not new to the energy world in Texas though. He’s the only Texan to ever chair both the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Railroad Commission (which regulates oil and gas). He literally has a unique perspective.

Barry and Doug talked about geothermal and how perfectly suited it is to a state that has drilled—get this—one million wells. They also discussed the ongoing PUC market design debates and discussions which are reaching a sort of crescendo as the PUC drives toward a January 12 decision just two days after the Texas Legislature gavels in for their biennial regular session.

Episode 3: Don’t California my Texas (electricity market)

Aired Nov. 2, 2022

A highly anticipated report on the costs and effectiveness of three proposed reforms to the Texas electricity market is here. And the results aren’t great. 

One of the proposals, which resembles the California electricity market, would increase the cost of Texas electricity by $22.8 billion over the second half of this decade without significantly improving reliability, according to the report. 

How did we get here, and what’s next for ERCOT? 

Texas Power Podcast host Doug Lewin is joined this week by Dr. Joshua Rhodes, who is a research scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, a non-resident fellow at Columbia University, and a founding partner and the CTO of IdeaSmiths LLC.

Episode 2: Texas eyes a Texas-sized role for DERs

Aired Oct. 20, 2022

Texas is saddled with a vulnerable energy system: Winter Storm Uri and this summer’s extended heat wave proved that. Now, distributed energy resources are getting some attention—finally. 

State regulators are looking at how aggregated DERs could give the ERCOT grid greater stability. On the table is an 80 MW virtual power plant pilot that could serve as a showcase and building block for a much larger set of DERs.

Amy Heart, who leads public policy at Sunrun, helped craft the pilot as a member of the ADER task force. She joined Episode 2 of the Texas Power Podcast to discuss lessons learned from past weather events, talk about current market redesign efforts, and offer insights into the future for DERs in Texas. 

Episode 1: Pat Wood on Texas grid reform and George W. Bush’s aha moment on renewables

Aired Sept. 29, 2022

Texas is tackling an energy market redesign not seen in decades. The freeze and subsequent outages from Winter Storm Uri in 2021 left hundreds dead and millions without power. The storm’s aftermath also sparked debate over how to make the ERCOT grid more resilient in the face of extreme weather events and a changing energy mix.

On Episode 1 of the Texas Power Podcast, host Doug Lewin is joined by Pat Wood, former chairman of both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Public Utility Commission of Texas. He helped deliver former Texas Gov. George W. Bush’s deregulation agenda in the 1990s.

Doug’s conversation with Pat Wood covered the state’s market redesign efforts, the enabling technologies that can support grid resilience, and the moment when then-governor Bush was first drawn to renewables.