Transforming Texas-style commodification: Sovereignty, resilience, and energy justice

ABSTRACTWe examine the 2021 collapse of the Texas electrical grid as a case study of vulnerabilities introduced by the commodification of energy systems. While theories of commodification do predict several of the observed impacts of this experiment in privatization and deregulation of public utilities, we attribute these impacts to a tendentious conception of “Texas-style” sovereignty that is not captured by existing accounts of energy justice. By supplementing existing conceptions of energy justice with an evolved conception of sovereignty, we hope to provide a more capacious and defensible normative foundation for energy systems than is available elsewhere, and one capable of diagnosing and avoiding the trappings of Texas-style energy ideals.KEYWORDS: Commodificationenergy justicesovereigntyresilience Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsWhiskey SoursWhiskey Sours is a PhD candidate at the University of Colorado Boulder. They work primarily on transgender theory & politics, and environmental political theory. Their work is guided by agreement with Ivan Illich in seeking to develop and promote the protection, use, and enjoyment of personal energy under personal control. This paper is their first publication.Steve VanderheidenSteve Vanderheiden is professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He specializes in political theory and environmental politics, with a focus on justice and democracy issues in climate change politics and policy. Vanderheiden is the author of Atmospheric Justice: A Political Theory of Climate Change (Oxford, 2008) and Environmental Political Theory (Polity, 2020) along with numerous articles, book chapters and other publications.