AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) on Thursday approved Oncor's resiliency plan, greenlighting an approximately $3 billion investment into "accelerated grid upgrades and enhancements" for the electric company, according to a release from Oncor.
This was the first resiliency plan submitted by an electric utility to be approved by the PUCT. It comes after a bill filed during the last Texas Legislative session that allows electric utilities in Texas to file a resiliency plan for approval with the PUCT.
House Bill 2555 was enacted by the Texas Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023. According to a release from the PUCT, the plans must include measures that would help the utility prevent, withstand, mitigate, or more promptly recover from resiliency events, which include extreme weather, wildfires, and cybersecurity or physical security threats.
Specific requirements for resiliency plans are outlined in the PUCT’s rules online.
Oncor said the planned upgrades in its first System Resiliency Plan (SRP) will help "substantially reduce the impact and duration of severe weather outages and address other physical and cybersecurity risks to Oncor’s electric grid."
Oncor said it will invest $3 billion into the resiliency of its distribution system over the next four years. Investments are focused in the following areas, per Oncor:
Details about Oncor's SRP can be found online.
Oncor analyzed more than two decades of past weather, damage and location data, and its impact to customers, to identify the priorities and investments needed across its service area, according to the electric company.
Other electric providers that have submitted resiliency plans for approval from the PUCT are American Electric Power Texas, Texas-New Mexico Power Company, and Entergy Texas. PUCT said those are under review.
“The size and geographic diversity of Texas is unmatched in its beauty and complexity. The miles of coastline, windy plains, rugged Hill Country, piney woods, and all areas in between present a unique array of challenges and extreme weather threats to the electric system that powers our everyday lives,” PUCT Chairman Thomas Gleeson said. “The system resiliency plan approved today is an important step forward in ensuring electric infrastructure in Texas is ready for these threats, strengthened to minimize potential damage, and prepared to quickly recover from any event. Reliable electricity is essential to the health and safety of all Texans, so we must be prepared.”
