Analysts, Officials Consider Possibility of Texas Joining National Power Grid.

Publication: The Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 The Dallas Morning News

Byline: Jim Landers

May 27--WASHINGTON--President Bush's national energy plan includes a study on whether Texas should be brought into a national electricity grid, where some of its surplus power could move to states such as California that don't have enough.

Even though there's a sizable power surplus in Texas, sales to the West aren't possible now because the Texas power grid is not connected to the Western states.

A national grid would involve hugely expensive technical problems in trying to synchronize power systems operating on different cycles, analysts say.

"Connect two generators out of sync, and they will literally tear each other apart," said Eugene Gorzelnik of the North American Electric Reliability Council.

A national grid would also eliminate a bit of Lone Star sovereignty as federal energy regulators gain a foothold in the state through interstate commerce in electricity. If the administration decides that Texas should be part of a...

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