Investments that Texas made in smart meter technology along with software improvements in power distribution grids helped the state withstand Hurricane Harvey in August better than other natural disasters, Bill Magness, president and CEO of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, said at a panel discussion on wholesale power markets during CERAWeek by IHS Merkit.

Harvey, which dropped 51 inches of rain on Houston, would have swamped power providers who faced less daunting storms in earlier years. But the smart meters that automatically transmit energy consumption data allowed power companies to recognize transmission problems before some residents even knew they didn't have power coming to their homes and businesses, said Magness.
"Those investments were ultimately about the resiliency of the system," he said.

Initially power regulators believed Harvey would be a wind event. When it shifted to a rain event that came ashore near Rockport, grid operators were able to shift a new transmission line inland and maintain power supplies to residents along the Texas Gulf Coast.

Magness also had good things to say about the Texas retail electric market that was opened to competition 16 years ago. Since then, Texans have grown used to buying their electricity from competing retail providers.

"We have an extremely vibrant retail market," said Magness.

So well in fact that power producers are getting into the retail side of the business. That's because, Magness explained, when energy prices are low retailers do well but energy producers suffer. That phenomenon, he said, has caused some power generation companies in Texas to invest on the retail side of the business as a way to hedge their risks when power generation profits fall.