The bills would allow the state to hire companies to build emergency gas-fueled power plants, among other ideas for swinging the state’s power balance away from wind and solar.
Emily Foxhall
Emily Foxhall is The Texas Tribune's climate reporter. She joined the Tribune as an energy reporter in December 2022, focused on the state’s transition to green energy and the reliability of the power grid. She completed a year-long Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in May 2025. Emily is based in Houston, where she grew up. After a stint as a Tribune student intern in 2012, she began her career at the Los Angeles Times and its community papers. She later worked at the Houston Chronicle where her environmental reporting uncovered the effects of climate change and pollution on the region. She won several Texas Managing Editors awards and was part of the 2017 team that was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Hurricane Harvey. Emily graduated from Yale University in 2013, where she studied English and was a Yale Journalism Scholar.
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Graphics and data reporting
What you need to know about Texas’ complex — but important — electricity market reform plan
The idea, which still lacks some important details and could be changed by state lawmakers, would change how electricity is paid for in tight times. We explain it for everyday Texans.
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State Government
“We’ve come to say goodbye”: Visitors flock to Fairfield Lake State Park on its last day
For decades the park has sat on leased land that the owner recently decided to sell. As the staff closed the gates Monday night for the last time, visitors and staff held out hope that the state could find a way to save the park.
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Winter Storm 2021
Lawsuits pile up two years after Texas’ devastating winter storm
Thousands are accusing power companies, distribution companies, electric grid operators and others of failing to prepare properly for the February 2021 storm, creating a catastrophe.
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Economy
Texas cities debate costly infrastructure investments in age of extreme weather
Experts say local governments should prioritize extreme weather preparedness. Cost can be a deterring factor.
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Environment
In Central Texas, an urban tree canopy bends to the ice
The Hill Country loves its trees. But improper pruning and a drought earlier in the year may have contributed to the huge number of downed branches this week that frequently took power lines with them.
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Energy
State regulators approve controversial Texas electricity market reform
The substantial change in the way the state’s market works will first be reviewed by the Legislature.
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Energy
State agency that oversees Texas power grid needs more money to do its job, Sunset Commission finds
The Public Utility Commission has about 200 employees but needs more to handle shoring up the state power grid and tackling an expanded list of regulatory duties, according to the state Sunset Advisory Commission.
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Winter Storm 2021
Texas Supreme Court will decide whether ERCOT should be immune from lawsuits sparked by deadly winter storm
Many people and insurers sued the Electric Reliability Council of Texas after the 2021 freeze. The nonprofit says it shouldn’t be liable. The state Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in.
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Energy
After underestimating power demand, Texas electric grid operator gets federal permission to exceed air quality limits
The U.S. Department of Energy granted permission for power plants to release more pollution than is normally allowed — if grid conditions worsen.