Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) commissioners on 29 August authorised the agency’s executive director to enter into a loan agreement with selected Texas Energy Fund applicants that successfully complete a further review, with initial loan disbursements to be made by the end of 2025.
The loans will be made through the TEF, which voters approved in 2023. In July, Texas governor Greg Abbott, R, said he wants to double the programme’s size “to build more new plants as soon as possible.”
The 16 gas fired generation projects total almost 10 GW. Potentially they would receive 3% state-backed loans supporting their development. If all projects advance through a due diligence review, the portfolio would represent a total of $5.4 billion in loans. The PUCT had originally selected 17 projects to advance in the loan application process, but soon after rejected one, the application, amounting to 1.3 GW, from NextEra and Aegle Power, which ‘failed the due diligence phase.’
The funds are available through the Texas Energy Fund loan programme, which voters approved last year to incentivise new power plants. The PUCT received 72 loan applications representing more than 38 GW in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) system.
Regulators took other actions at the open meeting to strengthen the state’s electric system, including adopting a reliability standard for the ERCOT region. The Texas grid “is more reliable today than it has ever been, and we know our system must continue to evolve to meet the growing demand for power,” PUCT chairman Thomas Gleeson said in a public statement.
