We’re Building Back Better.

The record-setting temperatures this summer stressed the grid nearly to the breaking point several times. ERCOT, the agency responsible for operating the power grid, issued several “conservation alerts” over the past three months, with one episode of “emergency operations” that warned of possible rolling blackouts. Fortunately, the grid remained operational and no blackouts were needed, but it was a close run thing. A grid that can’t properly respond to Texas summer heat is not a grid that is fixed. Despite the grid’s reliance on solar, wind, and battery power, “The Legislature excluded solar, wind and battery storage from property tax benefits passed through the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology and Innovation Act in May. The new law provides 10-year reductions on school taxes to new business developments including oil and natural gas,” according to the Texas Tribune. If the Legislature were serious about fixing the grid instead of lining the pockets of their donors, they would have included solar, wind, and battery power in their bill. Fortunately, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (which all Republican members of the Texas Congressional delegation voted against) will provide “$60.6 million from the federal government to help utilities strengthen infrastructure on the state’s electricity grid. The U.S. Department of Energy announced that it will award the funds so that Texas’ power grid might better withstand extreme weather events,” according to the Texas Tribune.

Getting a direct flight from the San Antonio Airport (SAT) to Reagan National in DC is a “massive priority”, says Ted Cruz, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The main obstacles to a direct flight are FAA rules that restrict the number of flights into Reagan and the distance of the flight. Exceptions must be sought to both rules in order to establish a flight, and it’s long past time for such an exception to be granted to SAT. SAT recently broke ground on a five-year, $2.5 billion expansion that will include a new Terminal C (which will be larger than the current Terminals A and B combined and add 17 new gates), a much-needed renovation of the outdated Terminal A, and upgrades to the airfield and roadway. Currently, SAT has 10 million passengers a year, an average of 25,000 a day. These improvements will accommodate a projected growth to 15 million passengers per year over the next twenty years. A news release in August from SAT stated, “SAT made history in July with more than one million passengers flying in and out of the airport.” It’s high time for SAT to amp up its game and obtain more nonstops, which will benefit anyone who travels.