Texas Power Grid Resiliency

In February, a massive winter storm led to a power outage in Texas that left more than 4.3 million households, around one third of the state’s electricity customers, without power for several days amid freezing weather. Over 46 gigawatts of power capacity went offline under the extreme cold weather event, resulting in broad-based failure of the power grid. The energy outages also affected the state’s water services, either making tap water unsuitable for drinking or stopping the supply altogether.

Vadim LantukhApril 14, 2021texas, power grid, energy, tax, tax accounting systems, software, energy grids, electricity, extreme weather, diversification, winterization, storage technology, energy pricing models, utility industry, rate regulated utilities, infrastructure

Solar Generation as Public Utility Property

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued several private letter rulings (PLR) in recent months clarifying the relationship between solar power generation equipment and public utility companies. The main focus is defining whether or not generation equipment with energy pricing based on monthly fees can be treated as public utility property. The designation of generation equipment as public utility property has several important implications, all of which impact how utilities treat the property for tax purposes.