A series of bills aiming to shore up the Texas power grid with backup dispatchable power is progressing through the state Senate, though some legislators fear the size and scope of the proposed rules ultimately will not address the reliability issues. 

State Republican Sens. Phil King (District 10) and Charles Schwertner (District 5) introduced a slew of legislation to bolster the Texas power grid. Among others, State Senate Bill (SB) 6 would create the Texas Energy Insurance Program and, which “guarantees ‘steel in the ground’ to serve as the state’s energy policy.” 

Under SB6, funds would be used to add 10 GW of dispatchable generation, previously specified as natural gas-fired generation in earlier iterations of the bill. Companies could bid to develop power plants...