Texas’s Plan to Avoid Deadly Blackouts May Cost $18 Billion

A fleet of new natural gas-fired power plants in Texas may cost $18 billion, much more than an earlier estimate, as lawmakers attempt to improve the state’s electric grid after its deadly failure in 2021.

If implemented, the new plants — which would only be used in emergency situations — would be built in two phases over a decade given permitting and supply chain constraints, according to slides of a new study shared by the Lower Colorado River Authority. The potential cost risks derailing Republicans’ plans to overhaul a grid increasingly reliant on renewable energy with fossil fuel plants.

A ...