Will Texas’ energy grid continue to function in the face of extreme weather?

Jun 22, 2023

2 min

Joshua Basseches

As summer arrives, residents in Texas are especially feeling the heat with no end in sight.


Two consecutive days earlier this week, the state’s power grid set records with its highest-ever demand for a single day in June. On Tuesday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which oversees the state’s power grid, asked residents to conserve electricity as temperatures climb late in the day.


Joshua Basseches, a climate change policy and politics expert at Tulane University's School of Liberal Arts, believes the call for electrical conservation in Texas could become the new normal unless ERCOT shores up an available power supply and builds sufficient transmission capacity to add more reliable sources of generation/storage.


“We see the Texas (ERCOT) grid under significant strain during extreme weather (whether hot or cold, like winter 2021). The question is how far things can bend before they break. ERCOT’s problems are exacerbated by the lack of a capacity market (which pays generators to be ready even when they aren’t needed) and by the lack of interconnection to other independent system operators due to Texans’ longstanding desire to be relatively independent of the purview of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Both make Texas’ situation highly unusual. Most ISOs are in multiple states, which puts them under the jurisdiction of FERC and gives them more flexibility to meet unusually high levels of demand.”



According to Basseches, Texas is highly unusual regarding its electricity governance. This can be a positive in some ways, as it keeps prices relatively low in “normal” times and allows for robust competition from different generation technologies. However, during increasingly common periods of extreme weather, there are limitations to the Texas status quo.


“If supply is unable to meet demand, customers will experience rolling brownouts (partial loss of electricity) and blackouts (complete loss of electricity). We all hope this doesn’t happen, but we have already seen some outages. Regardless, we wouldn’t be seeing what we’re seeing if there weren’t some elevated levels of risk.”


For interviews, contact Roger Dunaway at roger@tulane.edu or 504-452-2906.


Connect with:
Joshua Basseches

Joshua Basseches

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science | The David and Jane Flowerree Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Environmental Studies

Joshua Basseches is an expert in energy and climate politics and policymaking, especially in the U.S. states.

Inflation Reduction ActClimate and Energy PolicyPolitical SociologyState PoliticsPolical Science

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from Tulane University

2 min

Expert: TikTok lawsuit may spur new battleground over kids’ privacy

The Biden administration's lawsuit against TikTok for violating children's privacy rights isn't just another tech spat—it's a potential game-changer in protecting children online. The landmark case accusing TikTok of gathering personal information from users under the age of 13 without their parent’s permission could spark a global reckoning on kids' online safety. According to Tulane University tech ethics and legal expert Muira McCammon, the case is a bellwether for the future of children’s digital rights and whether the U.S. will strengthen lax data laws to make Big Tech accountable for any potential harm against younger users. “This TikTok lawsuit isn't just about one company's missteps—it's a watershed moment for children's digital rights. It signals that even tech giants aren't above the law when it comes to protecting minors online. The outcome could redefine how social media platforms handle young users' data globally, setting new standards for digital responsibility in an age of constant connectivity.” McCammon can discuss: • The vulnerability of U.S. data privacy laws, emphasizing the need for stronger regulations to protect young Americans online. • How the proposed Kids Online Safety Act, passed by the Senate, will strengthen reporting mechanisms and push social media platforms to disclose how they use minors' data. This new transparency alone may not drive real change in corporate practices. • How the legal battle between TikTok and the government underscores the ongoing power struggle between children seeking online freedom and parents striving to shield them from the perils of constant connectivity and targeted advertising. • How the case may trigger investigations into data handling practices at other companies and incentivize platforms to prioritize children's safety to maintain their user base, particularly among younger demographics. McCammon is an assistant professor of communication at Tulane University School of Liberal Arts. Contact Roger Dunaway, assistant director of media relations, for interviews at roger@tulane.edu.

2 min

National survey finds gender and partisan divides in perceptions of women's leadership abilities

A national survey from the Newcomb Institute at Tulane University has found that significant gender and partisan divides persist in perceptions of women's leadership abilities. While the majority of Americans do not believe men make better political leaders than women, there are stark differences in attitudes based on the gender and political ideology of respondents, according to the Institute’s forthcoming #MeToo Harassment Study 2024, which polled more than 3,000 U.S. adults earlier this year. The survey, conducted in partnership with the University of California at San Diego and the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago, included questions related to domestic violence, sexual harassment and abuse in the past 12 months. It also asked participants how much they agree or disagree with the following statement: “On the whole, men make better political leaders than women do.” This item is used by the World Values Survey to assess this belief in other country contexts. Key findings include: • Only 12% of U.S. adults agree that men make better political leaders than women, far lower than the global average of 50%. • Men are more likely than women to believe that men make better political leaders than women do – 16% of men compared to 10% of women hold this belief. • There is a clear partisan divide, with 26% of very conservative respondents agreeing compared to only 5% of very liberal respondents. • Disagreement with the notion that men make better leaders is highest in progressive states like California, which has relatively higher representation of women in elected office, and lowest in more conservative states like Mississippi. "These findings are concerning, as persistent biases against women's leadership abilities can impede progress in achieving gender parity in political representation," said Anita Raj, executive director of the Newcomb Institute and professor of global public health at Tulane. Raj said gender inequality in political representation matters because elected female officials are more likely than their male counterparts to introduce and enact bills, and they are more likely to build legislation on key areas affecting women and families, such as childcare, healthcare, paid family leave and sexual harassment in the workplace. The full report, which will be released in September, will dive into experiences of sexual harassment in public and private spaces, including the workplace.

3 min

Rising sea temperatures are pushing Great Barrier Reef to brink

Rising sea temperatures are causing increasing signs of stress and threatening the existence of one of the world's most diverse and valuable marine ecosystems, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, according to a new international study from a team of researchers that includes Tulane University coral reef expert Thomas DeCarlo. The assistant professor of oceanography at Tulane School of Science and Engineering analyzed historical temperature and bleaching patterns at the reef site using underwater drilling to collect coral core samples and CT scans to identify density variations and annual growth bands visible from when coral previously bleached and recovered. DeCarlo’s work, published this month in Nature, documents unprecedented levels of ocean heat leading to bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef, endangering a vital marine ecosystem. How is climate change threatening coral reefs across the globe? Corals are animals that live in symbiosis with photosynthetic algae inside their cells. These algae provide most of the energy corals need to survive. When water temperatures are abnormally warm, this symbiosis breaks down. The coral expels the algae, which is called bleaching. The coral turns white as you see the skeleton through the translucent tissues. While bleached corals are still alive, they begin to starve without their symbionts and may die if conditions don't improve quickly. What makes the Great Barrier Reef so unique — and how does it illustrate the urgency of rising sea temperatures? The Great Barrier Reef is the longest continuous reef in the world, near the center of reef biodiversity, with hundreds of coral species. It's a World Heritage Site and an icon for Australia. Key findings observed there include: - The high-temperature events of the past two to three decades are exceptional and unprecedented in the past four centuries. - There's strong statistical confidence that the highest temperature events causing devastating mass coral bleaching in the past decade have no parallel in at least the last 400 years. - We found some evidence of coral bleaching in the late 1800s, which wasn't previously known. - The frequency of mass bleaching has dramatically increased. From 1877 to 1982, there was almost a century between bleaching events. Since 1982, there have been seven mass coral bleaching events, occurring almost every other year recently. - The severity of bleaching has likely increased, and the short time between events doesn't allow for reef recovery. Why are coral reefs so important? Hundreds of millions of people depend on coral reefs for food, economic reasons and livelihood. Reefs also provide tourism revenue, as well as spiritual and aesthetic value. Ecologically, reefs protect shorelines by breaking waves and reducing erosion. As we lose live corals, reefs become flatter and less effective at breaking waves. Reef degradation also leads to loss of biodiversity, as many species depend on specific coral habitats. This impacts fisheries potential and has widespread effects on society and people around the world. How can we protect coral reefs from further damage? The primary action needed is reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Climate models show that the warming trend since the late 1800s is due to human activities. These models can simulate natural climate variability and demonstrate that the temperature events of the past two decades on the Great Barrier Reef would have been impossible without human CO2 emissions. The first step is to acknowledge that a problem exists. Unfortunately, there's still controversy around labeling the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger," despite clear scientific evidence of its deterioration and continued exposure to heat extremes. We need to agree on the danger the reef is in before we can make the hard choices necessary to reduce the speed of climate change. For more on DeCarlo’s work, visit The Sclero Lab at Tulane University. To schedule an interview, contact Stacey Plaisance with Tulane media relations, splaisance@tulane.edu or 504-247-1420.

View all posts