Clean energy is rapidly rising on the Texas power grid, but regulators in the Lone Star State are now considering a plan that could give fossil fuels a boost.

The zero greenhouse gas emissions trio — wind, solar, and nuclear energy — provided more than 40 percent of electricity in the state in 2022. It was a year when several Texas cities experienced their hottest summers on record, driving electricity demand to its highest levels ever as fans and air conditioners switched on. Winter proved stressful too, with freezing temperatures last month pushing winter electricity peaks to record-high levels, narrowly avoiding outages.

Texas wasn’t alone. Over the past year, states like California have faced their own brushes with blackouts as searing temperatures drove up electricity consumption while the ongoing drought in the Western US throttled power supplies. Throughout the country, renewable energy is growing, but so are threats to the power grid. Utility regulators are trying to come up with ways to cope, and Texas — the largest energy producer in the US — could provide critical lessons.