It would be an "overreach" for the federal government to come in and regulate the Texas power grid, even after millions of the state's residents had to endure power losses after the state was slammed with a rare winter storm and freezing temperatures, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry insists.
"Let's find out what happened," Perry, also a former Texas governor, said on Fox Business' "Mornings with Maria." "Why not bring in those national labs, working with our universities in Texas, working with the state of Texas, find solutions to our energy needs. We know we have to have a diverse energy portfolio."
Part of the problem was that wind turbines froze in the record cold temperatures, but that was not the only issue, Perry said.
"We had problems across the board," he said. "The smartest minds in the world ... the University of Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech have great minds. Let's find the solutions to these energy needs that we have."
Meanwhile, discussions had been held in the past about what needed to be done to protect the state, and Gov. Greg Abbott is correct when he says that steps must be taken to make sure the current situation never happens again, said Perry.
Texas, he added, has been through big natural disasters before, including hurricanes, and the state will "get through this."
"The focus needs to be getting generators up, the water treatment plants back working so people know that they can be safe, that they can take care of their families," said Perry.
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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