Devastating, freezing weather last winter season from Winter Storm Uri wreaked havoc on the state of Texas, paralyzing a power grid unaccustomed to handling record lows and leading to the deaths of more than 200 people. More than 5.2 million homes and businesses were at one point without power over the course of half a month. The crisis ended up costing Texas at least $195 billion in damages, and may very well become the priciest weather event in state history. Lawmakers vowed to fix Texas’ power grid by implementing regulations that forced companies like ERCOT and CenterPoint to act. What they passed, and what was eventually signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, looks to be all hat and no cattle. The legislation, SB 2 and 3, asks energy providers to weatherize their equipment but offers no real timeline and few financial incentives for achieving that goal. A proposed $2 billion earmarked to offset upgrade costs for power companies was discussed but never established. Language in a state House bill related to off-setting costs instead allows companies to seek customer-backed bonds as the energy market looks to bounce back from this year. It’s also small change for an energy provider to simply skip upgrades altogether. Were a company like CenterPoint to incur the up to $1 million fine per day for not weatherizing equipment, it would only be shelling out a fraction of what it pays its C-suite executives annually in the form of base salary and various incentives—not that, say, CEO Devaid Lesar, the former head of Halliburton, needs the money. Newly approved guidance from the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, struck down perhaps the most outrageous loophole found in SB 2 and 3 that would have allowed companies to pay a mere $150 application fee to opt out any facilities, regardless of criticality, from having to make those upgrades. The $150 fee is still an option for “marginal wells” that collectively produce just 1% of Texas’ power. Though certain requirements have been approved, the regulators must now establish a map identifying and categorizing the many wells, pipelines, and facilities that must weatherize. The process is expected to take until next September, with rules being rolled out up to six months after that. For now, Texans can do little but hope and pray they experience a mild winter. Read more