The Texas Power Grid Is In Need Of An Overhaul

Although the Texas Grid has served us well we are using outdated technology. The Department of Energy have several companies involved in research projects that will help in creating a more state of the art system to alleviate the congestion and bottlenecks certain parts of the state are familiar with. Texas has done fairly well with avoiding the brownouts that California is plagued with although we still do find ourselves in criticical power outage situations.

Research Will Total 51 Million Dollars

The Department Of Energy will be Spending 51 Million Dollars to research several new technologies that may be implemented in the new grid overhaul across the nation. The new grid system will be highly efficient and will use technologies by the names of, single-phase cables, high-temperature superconductor cables, SuperLimiter, saturable reactor-type fault current limiter, and a matrix designed fault current limiter. These systems will be put in place in some of the worst congestion zones in the country. This will alleviate many power disruptions and brownouts that several states have begun to see as common place.

Texas Goes Nodal

When? Starting in 2008

The redesigned Texas Power grid will consist of more than 4000 nodes and will replace the current congestion management zones (CMZs).

The implementation of the nodal market design is expected to deliver the following benefits:

• Improved price signals
• Improved dispatch efficiencies
• Direct assignment of local congestion (This means Houston Pays For their Congestion Problems)