Texas Public Utility Commission

The report also recommends the Public Utility Commission hire more of its own analysts rather than rely on industry and other outside groups to help make decisions that affect the entire state.

State lawmakers are discussing ways to increase electric grid reliability, but some experts say the proposed changes could hurt renewable energy without bolstering the grid.

Despite unanimously rejecting a petition to strengthen standards in the state, regulators with the Public Utility Commission said they weren't rejecting the idea outright. Instead, they said they needed more time to explore the issue.

On May 4, 1976, a power company based in Texas sent electricity from a substation in Vernon, Texas, to Altus, Okla. By doing so, they were breaking a deal among power companies in Texas to keep electricity within state borders.

The new climate spending package boosts wind and solar power to clean up the country's electricity grid. But these efforts face an ongoing misinformation campaign.

While there have been improvements to the grid over the past year and a half, some of the root causes of the blackout are still unaddressed.

The rate increase will help replenish a state fund to maintain and operate cellphone networks in rural Texas. A court determined the state’s Public Utility Commission needed to restore $200 million in overdue money to the fund.

Texas grid operators say Friday's call for conservation shows the system is working as intended. Some independent analysts say the latest grid assessment downplays the likelihood of extreme scenarios.

Gov. Greg Abbott's office has said he was "not involved in any way" with the decision. Testimony from the former head of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas appears to contradict that.

For some Texans, a blackout could be a death sentence. They and their supporters are calling on the state to do more to protect them.