The 2025 regular Texas Legislative Session is over, and the state’s competitive energy market survived it. A few anti-energy bills that would have weakened the state’s abundant, reliable, low-cost power — and that still passed one chamber of the legislature — were ultimately stopped.

Through the session, TEBA’s team actively advocated for policies that advance reliable and affordable clean energy, reduce power bills, protect the state’s energy market, and allow a strong diversity of energy resources to meet Texas’s future power needs. In several session wrap-up stories, TEBA praised the legislature for stopping anti-energy legislation but warned about the signal that such bills send to employers who want to invest in Texas.

1. Uncertainty for Employers
In a San Antonio Express-News article, TEBA’s Senior Director of Policy, Bryn Baker, highlighted the apprehension that Texas employers are now feeling, given how far these bills advanced in the process:
“These bills caused our members to question their Texas strategy. They noticed how far these bills got and question whether Texas is a predictable place to do business. … Thankfully, lawmakers kept Texas open for business because that viewpoint of ‘we’re going to need it all’ prevailed.”

2. Diversity Is Essential
In the Dallas Morning News, Baker stressed the need for a diverse energy portfolio — especially given the significant international backlog in gas turbine production:
“If you haven’t ordered your [gas] turbine already, the back-order list is at least five years long, and turbine producers aren’t planning to dramatically ramp production. So, you can’t solve the power equation with just gas. Diversity is key.”

3. Chilled Investment
Baker warned in the Houston Chronicle that some TEBA members, worried about retroactive costs on renewables, expressed concern these bills could return in future legislative sessions, and what that means for energy availability and economic growth in the state:
Anti-energy legislation “raises the specter of chilled investment. Investors and executives who are focused on energy availability noticed how these bills advanced, and they couldn’t help but ask whether Texas is a predictable place to do business.”

4. Cost and Reliability
A wide range of allies — including business groups, manufacturers, oil & gas companies, and renewable energy companies — came together to fight anti-energy legislation at the Texas Capitol. As Baker told the Texas Standard, all of these companies were concerned about the impact that these bills would have had on the
state’s economy and power grid:
“This is about cost and reliability. Full stop. And if you’re talking about making things more expensive – you’ve got a whole bunch of folks interested and concerned.”

5. Global Competitiveness
In an interview with the Financial Times, Baker stressed that energy availability and reliability will be essential to ensuring that Texas can compete in the global economy – especially given the energy needs of data centers, advanced manufacturers, and other fast-growing industries. The failure of anti-energy legislation, she stressed, means a brighter economic future for Texas:
“Good sense prevailed. For Texas to compete globally, we need all the energy sources on the table.”