Psalms & Civic Responsibilities Perennial Advice from the Wisdom Literature VI

Truth is – your state government failed you.  Your highest leaders knew the electric grid was vulnerable, but they put special interests above you.  

The table pounding coming from state officials about “investigating” ERCOT is quite impressive – unless you know the truth.

Today, Gov. Abbott revised his legislative priorities and has now included “Mandating winterization of power generators and funding needed to ensure that winterization occurs” as “emergency” legislative priorities.  So glad you finally arrived at the dance, Governor. You. Are. Exceedingly Late. 

The truth is – grassroots leaders like Cathie Adams of Eagle Forum, Trayce Bradford and Cindi Castilla of Texas Eagle Forum, Anne Hettinger and Dana Harris of Texas Concerned Women for America, and Grassroots America along with hundreds of conservative grassroots leaders across Texas have been raising the alarm for at least ten years!

On May 30, 2017, after yet another legislative session blew by with NO action to secure the Texas electric grid, our Texas Conservative Grassroots Coalition urged Gov. Abbott to call a special session to get the work done.  The following is an excerpt from that letter:

“Governor, we respectfully ask that you send a signal to special interests that you value the lives and economic livelihood of Texans over their objections. Please put grid security on the call for a special session. Lives depend on getting this right.

The undersigned strongly support Senator Bob Hall’s grid security bill (SB 83), which will propel Texas forward in the urgent mission to strengthen, harden, and protect our electrical grid against natural-occurring and manmade attacks.”

Gov. Greg Abbott ignored the pleas we made on behalf of vulnerable Texans.

Gov. Abbott ignored needed legislation put forward by both State Sen. Bob Hall (SD2) and State Rep. Tony Tinderholt (HD 94) for the last SIX years!   

There are other issues involved in this bureaucratic disaster – local tax breaks for green energy, taxpayer subsidies for wind and solar energy, and ERCOT having to ask permission from the US Dept. of Energy to produce more from “non-green” sources of energy and avoid federal penalties for exceeding emissions from coal and fossil fuel sources. (This is just idiocy!)  We will send out more on those issues later. For now, get busy making your voice heard!

Take Immediate Action! 

To a politician, your silence = your approval. So, speak up!

1.    First, arm yourself with facts. Carefully read through the following press release sent out by Senator Bob Hall today.  It’s only one page.

2.    Read this article for a national perspective on the high cost Texans are needlessly enduring all because we have too many politicians who listen to lobbyists, political consultant hacks, and career bureaucrat staffers instead of REAL people!  Click here to read the article titled “Texas Blackouts Highlight Costs of Ignoring Resilience” and be sure to watch the 8-minute video clip wherein retired US Marine Tommy Waller explains the urgency of securing the electric grid.

3.    Then, call, email, and post messages on social media to Gov. Abbott, Lt. Gov. Patrick, House Speaker Dade Phelan, your state representative and state senator.  Be relentless! 

4.    Thank Senator Bob Hall and State Representative Tony Tinderholt for staying in the fight for you!  Tell them they have your support!

Contact information:

For State Senators: https://senate.texas.gov/
For State Representatives:  https://www.house.texas.gov/
Governor Greg Abbott:  https://gov.texas.gov/contact
Lt. Governor Dan Patrick: https://www.ltgov.texas.gov/contact/
Republican House Speaker Dade Phelan: https://www.house.texas.gov/members/speaker/

AUSTIN, TEXAS — State Senator Bob Hall (SD 2) is doubling down on his commitment to pass his Resilient Energy Communities legislation to protect the Texas power grid – legislation that he has filed for the last four legislative sessions. The near collapse of the Texas electric grid this week has underscored the long overdue need to protect the Texas grid from both natural and manmade threats.

Senator Hall recognized long ago the danger Texans faced with ERCOT having little to no accountability, incentives, or mandates from the state legislature to invest in protecting the electric grid. Texas’s current weather crisis has revealed just one of the types of situations that leave Texans truly vulnerable when it comes to reliable energy to power their homes, schools, and businesses.

Senator Hall commented saying, “Plain and simple – when it comes to electric grid security, state government has failed the people of Texas.Now that even the greatest skeptics see how vulnerable we really are, I want to assure the people of Texas that I am more committed than ever to ensuring our grid security and resilient community legislation passes this session.

“I am happy to report that we are receiving significant support from my senate colleagues, who now recognize the seriousness of this issue. The most important thing we can do for the people is to hold accountable the special interests who have misled legislators into believing that both the natural and manmade threats to the electric grid are not real and that our infrastructure is in exceptionally good condition. We now know that is not true!

“It is now our solemn duty as legislators to pass meaningful legislation to protect the Texas electric grid and begin developing resilient communities to ensure that Texans never again suffer a disaster like we are now experiencing. The time for studying the issue has passed!  The facts are before our very eyes.”

Senator Hall’s commentary from two years ago on the importance of securing the Texas electric grid is even more relevant today.

Today, the prestigious Center for Security Policy spotlighted the high-cost Texans are paying this week because Senator Hall’s grid security legislation was ignored for years. Details here: “Texas Blackouts Highlight Costs of Ignoring Resilience.”

Bob Hall is a Citadel graduate, an electrical engineer, a military veteran, and is currently ranked the most conservative State Senator in Texas. Bob and his wife, Kay, live in Van Zandt County and are members of Lakeside Baptist Church. For more information, please visit www.SenatorBobHall.com.