Building Resiliency into our Utility Infrastructure through Climate Policy & Program Design: Lessons from the “Texas Big Freeze”

The American Association of Energy Services Professionals recently hosted a webinar highlighting the importance of building resiliency into our utility infrastructure across multiple regions and communities. Energy Innovation Senior Policy Analyst Dan Esposito discussed what led to the multi-day power outages, sky-high electricity prices, and disproportionate harm to communities of color in Texas during February’s “Big Freeze” winter storm. Dan highlighted the degree to which these issues are specific to Texas and which others could serve as warnings of what could unfold in other regions of the country, and laid out how different local and state entities can improve U.S. energy market and power infrastructure resiliency against extreme events while decarbonizing the grid to mitigate future climate risk.