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After Thomas Edison’s first power plant in Manhattan in 1882, over 4,000 power companies supplied electricity independently until after World War II. Three interconnected power grids have since evolved in the US, including the Texas Interconnection, which serves only Texas customers and is exempt from most federal regulations. Texas uses 44% more electricity than California, with much of it consumed by petrochemical plants and oil refineries. ERCOT was formed in 1970 after a major blackout in the northeastern US in 1965 and has been able to provide low-cost energy with few service problems.
Thomas Edison flipped the switch on the country’s first power plant in Manhattan in 1882, and in the years that followed, more than 4,000 individual power companies supplied electricity to an increasingly modern society. But each utility operated independently, and after World War II, the demand for energy began to increase. Electric utilities have found it more efficient to connect their transmission systems into a power grid, and over time, three major interconnected systems have evolved in the United States: the Eastern Interconnection and the Western Interconnection for most of the country and the Texas Interconnection for , Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grew out of that state’s long line of independent businesses, and its utilities serve only Texas customers. The state national power serves most of the state, with the exception of El Paso, the upper panhandle, and a chunk of East Texas. And by not selling to interstate customers, ERCOT is exempt from most federal regulations.
Energy consumption is also higher in Texas:
Texas uses more electricity than any other state, a whopping 44 percent more than California, which comes in second. Much of that power is gobbled up by petrochemical plants and oil refineries.
ERCOT was formed in 1970, in part as a result of the great blackout that hit the northeastern United States in November 1965.
ERCOT has been able to provide low-cost energy with few service problems. In fact, Texas electricity is cheaper per kilowatt hour than the national average.
