🔴Relating to the planning for, interconnection and operation of, and costs related to providing service for certain electrical loads, and to the generation of electric power by a water supply or sewer service corporation

🔴 SB 6: Private Grid Control and Hidden Costs

What it says it does:
SB 6 claims to make the Texas power grid more reliable by making large industrial users, like data centers and crypto mines, pay their fair share for upgrades and new connections.

What it actually changes:
It transfers key decision-making power from the Public Utility Commission to ERCOT, a private operator that is not accountable to voters. It allows automatic project approvals if deadlines are missed and expands confidentiality rules that hide grid data from the public. It also creates permanent transmission fees that raise costs for local utilities, schools, and hospitals.

Who is pushing for it:
According to committee witness lists, the bill was supported by the Texas Blockchain Council, the Association of Electric Companies of Texas, ERCOT leadership, the Texas Association of Manufacturers, and oil and gas trade groups like TXOGA.

Who benefits:
Large data centers, crypto-mining operations, and industrial energy users gain faster approval for grid connections and new exemptions from public disclosure. ERCOT and utilities gain stronger cost recovery and control over energy procurement.

Who gets left out or exposed:
Everyday Texans, public schools, and small businesses lose transparency and face higher electricity costs. Local governments lose a voice in approval processes, and watchdogs lose access to the data needed to monitor corporate influence over the grid.

Why this matters long term:
SB 6 creates a long-term precedent for privatized decision-making in the Texas grid. Once ERCOT has this level of authority, future legislatures can expand it further, reducing public oversight while increasing costs for ratepayers.

What to watch next:
Watch for new rulemaking by the PUC and ERCOT on how “expedited interconnections” and “minimum transmission charges” will be enforced. These rules will determine whether the costs are shared fairly or quietly shifted to local communities and taxpayers.

Bottom line:
SB 6 is presented as a reliability reform, but it actually concentrates power in ERCOT, protects corporate energy users from scrutiny, and spreads the costs of growth to everyone else. Texans deserve a grid that is transparent, accountable, and affordable.

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