How much new gas capacity does the Texas grid need?

The Texas grid experienced record electricity demand in summer 2026 while posting some of the lowest power prices in nearly a decade. That might be good for customers, but it makes for a tough investment environment if you want to build a gas plant. And with surging demand projections and increasingly extreme weather swings, many believe Texas needs significant new dispatchable generation, mainly gas, to prepare. 

So how do we think about the reliability of the Texas grid? And how much are policy mechanisms like the Texas Energy Fund loan program helping? Where do renewables and storage fit into this? And how does Texas compare to other competitive power markets trying to encourage new dispatchable generation?

This episode features a recording from the Gulf Coast Power Association's fall conference in Austin, where Dan Testa hosted a live discussion on these issues with guests: David Dardis, chief external affairs and growth officer at Constellation Energy; Elaina Ball, chief strategy officer at CPS Energy, the municipal utility for San Antonio; and Mason Lester, a principal analyst on the North American power team at S&P Global Energy.