States deregulating their energy markets regard Texas as the model to follow

1. Why is Texas the Model for Energy Deregulation?

8. Investment and building generation capacity added reliability to the system. On hot days, electricity demand in the ERCOT area can threaten to overload both generators and transmission lines, blacking out large areas of the state. An example of this occurred on April 18, 2006; rolling blackouts affected much of southeast Texas. Additional generators provide back up against system shortfalls.

12. Market transformation maximized the Texas grid's efficiency and reliability. Challenge: The Texas grid is largely disconnected from the rest of the country and shares only a few interconnects. This restricts electrical flow between Texas and the rest of the country.

15. Wind Power Cheap if You Get it to Market In 2009, the PUCT invested $5 billion in transmission projects for Texas' Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ). CREZ power-line projects will eventually transmit 18,456 MW of wind-generated power from West Texas to power-hungry East Texas.

18. True The Texas electricity deregulation process has been rocky. International political and economic turmoil can affect volatile fuel commodity market prices… And markets don't guarantee the lowest possible prices… … BUT they do guarantee the best possible prices based on a customer's preference.

21. That's why all the other states are following Texas.