Gov. Greg Abbott assured global business leaders that Texas is addressing its power, water, broadband and transportation infrastructure to ensure it can support rapid growth in the future. He made these assurances last week at a fireside chat sponsored by the Texas Economic Development Corp (TxEDC).

The primary infrastructure issue facing Texas is the electrical grid, said TxEDC president and CEO Robert Allen, who hosted the fireside chat. The 87th Texas Legislature is considering bills that would address issues that crippled the grid during February’s catastrophic winter storm. Allen asked Abbott what message he has for CEOs thinking about relocating to Texas to allay concerns about the reliability of the state’s electricity grid.

“The message is clear and that is: We are not going to end this legislative session without ensuring that all the laws are passed that needed to be passed to ensure that we never go through an episode like this again,” Abbott said. “With so many people moving into Texas and with so many businesses coming here, there’s going to be future demand for more power than what we are currently generating. That is why we will not leave this session without passing legislation to ensure we have sufficient power generating capacity for all the businesses that are moving here.”

The state is also planning infrastructure improvements to the transportation systems as well as water supply, sources and storage.