Austin, TX – Life:Powered today announced a comprehensive energy and natural resources policy agenda designed to strengthen grid reliability, protect property rights, improve water management, and ensure affordable, dependable electricity for all Texans.
“This policy agenda advances solutions that prioritize reliable power, responsible stewardship of Texas’ natural resources, and protection of private property rights,” said Brent Bennett, Life:Powered Policy Director.
The agenda addresses critical electricity market reforms, including establishing reliability standards for all ERCOT generators and restructuring electricity pricing to reward dependable power sources. It also tackles the rapid escalation of transmission costs through better cost allocation, regulatory reform, and application of new technologies to keep electricity affordable for Texas families and businesses.
The campaign proposes additional energy infrastructure reforms, including minimum state standards for the siting, permitting, and decommissioning of wind, solar, and battery facilities to ensure energy development respects landowner interests. The agenda also calls for protecting Texas grid infrastructure from electromagnetic pulse or solar flare events.
“These reforms represent real solutions that will lower costs for Texas families, keep the lights on during extreme weather, and ensure our state remains the best place to live and do business,” said Carson Clayton, Life:Powered Campaign Director.
The agenda also includes major water policy reforms. These include consolidating groundwater management around aquifer boundaries rather than political districts to improve scientific accuracy and reduce fragmentation and modifying regional water planning cycles to better align with actual project timelines and optimize fiscal resources.
To protect Texas farmers and consumers from contamination, the agenda calls for mandatory PFAS testing of biosolids with publicly available results and state-level limits.
Life Powered Policy Agenda
Reliability Standard for All ERCOT Electricity Generators and Related ERCOT Market Changes: Applies a reliability standard to all ERCOT generation and restructures markets to incentivize reliable generation sources over intermittent ones.
Slowing the Rapid Rise in Transmission Costs While Enabling Grid Expansion in Texas: Advocates for better cost allocation, regulatory reform, and market-driven alternatives like energy storage to curb skyrocketing transmission costs and ensure affordable electricity.
Balancing the Property Rights of Texans with Energy Development: Proposes minimum state standards for siting, permitting, and decommissioning of wind, solar, and battery facilities to protect property owners.
End ESG Virtue-Signaling on the Grid: Stop the practice of purchasing Texas wind and solar power solely to claim renewable energy credits for power consumed out of state.
Install Neutral Ground Blocking Devices: Equip the Texas power grid with neutral ground blocking devices to shield infrastructure from damage due to EMP or solar flare events.
Make Aquifers Great Again (by consolidating management of groundwater): Considers aquifer-based groundwater management instead of politically defined districts to reduce management fragmentation and improve scientific accuracy.
Streamline Water Planning: Suggests modifying regional water planning cycles to optimize fiscal resources and better align with actual project timelines.
PFAS Transparency in Biosolids: Require state-level limits and mandatory testing of biosolids for PFAS, with results made publicly available, to protect Texas farmers, consumers, and land from contamination.