Dallas grew with the oil and cotton industries, and is a major economic center with advanced banking, telecommunications and technology, and research industries. It is also an important transportation hub. But Dallas faces challenges from growing income inequality. Population growth has put increasing pressure on its limited water supply, and highlights a lack of affordable housing. City officials are working to increase mixed-use development along transit corridors to mitigate concentrations of poverty, as well as investing in improved schools to reduce future inequity.
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The biggest energy questions heading into the Texas Legislature Jan 9, 2015, 11:29am CST UPDATED: Jan 13, 2015, 1:39pm CST Energy will be a hot topic when the Texas Legislature convenes Tuesday with some big issues that could have a huge impact on North Texas homes and businesses.
Chris Reeder, a partner with Husch Blackwell in Austin, talks about what he thinks are the biggest issues in the electric utility sector for 2015.
Here's a rundown:
Wind power: Who pays for this?
Wind power has increased rapidly in Texas in recent years, constantly blowing past old records for power generation. By its very nature, though, wind power causes problems on the grid because it's intermittent. These frequency variations can affect the reliability of the electric grid, especially in West Texas where wind is prevalent.
Protective equipment can be installed by utility companies to safeguard the grid.
But who should pay for that?
Right now, it falls on utility companies, such as Oncor, which owns the poles and wires in North Texas and beyond. There's growing sentiment that wind developers should be responsible for paying for that.
Oncor battery storage blurs lines
Oncor's proposal to install 5,000 megawatts of lithium ion batteries on the electric grid could mean a virtual end to power outages and a much more reliable grid. Energy from wind and solar could be stored on the batteries, providing a more consistent flow of electricity. Oncor has partnered with Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) to be the source of the batteries.
There are questions that need to be answered, though. If a utility such as Oncor has excess power in the batteries, should it be allowed to sell that power? Utilities are prohibited from doing so in Texas.
Bridge to an island
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas stands alone as the only independent grid in the country. There's a growing movement to add DC tie-ins that connect ERCOT to other grids so Texas can buy power when needed from other states. That's one way to solve the state's reliability problems without building new power plants, which is tough to do in today's price and regulatory environment, Reeder said.
It would also shift some regulation from Austin to Washington.
The future of EFH
The Texas Legislature will want to make sure consumers are protected no matter what the outcome of the Energy Future Holdings Chapter 11 proceedings, Reeder said.
"The (PUC) will no doubt have to take some action," Reeder said. "We think the legislature will be closely watching this and will no doubt make its feelings known,"
Oil price crunch
An oil glut sent crude oil prices tumbling in late 2014, a trend that's continued in January. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude oil have fallen nearly $60 since June.
"It's primarily an awareness of future revenues and how that's going to affect our budgeting process," Reeder said.