The Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 398 during the 2021 legislative session. Included in the bill are additions to the Texas Utilities Code that deal with distributed generation serving grocers, food manufacturers and distributors in the territories of municipal and cooperative power utilities. The bill stipulates that the utility must purchase the entire output of the generator during specific events, including power emergencies and service interruptions, at a wholesale price agreed between the generator owner and the utility, and the utility customer will pay their applicable retail rate.

Each utility will need to publish and maintain rate schedules and riders that reflect compensation for the owner of the distributed generation and the conditions related to interconnection and operation.

This legislation, by virtue of encouraging investment in distributed energy resources, will help to support #resiliency in those areas of the state outside of competitive markets for services important to Texans.

I certainly appreciated my local #HEB being open and comfortable during Winter Storm #Uri