Berkshire offers Texas "break-the-glass-in-case-of-emergency-plan"

In the wake of massive and lengthy blackouts in Texas after the state was hit in February by an unusual winter storm, Berkshire Hathaway is pitching an $8.3 billion plan to build backup power plants.

Berkshire Hathaway Energy Infrastructure CEO Chris Brown tells The Wall Street Journal the subsidiary is offering to build 10 large natural-gas plants by November 2023.

He says they would only operate when the state's mostly self-contained electricity grid is overwhelmed.

"The state and its residents should have a reliable source of backup power generation during emergencies to protect residents and businesses. This is a break-the-glass-in-case-of-emergency plan."

In return, Berkshire is asking for a guaranteed 9.3% rate of return on its investment, with the money coming from a fixed fee paid by consumers of power.

The company says its plan would be less expensive than winterizing existing plants and pipelines.

Texas lawmakers would need to change the state's laws to allow for a new regulated utility.

At this point, that looks like a tough sell, although Berkshire is pushing hard. The Texas Tribune reports state ethics records show eight Austin lobbyists have been hired over the past week for more than $300,000.

A key Republican in the Texas Senate says he hasn't "heard a lot of receptivity" to the idea.

It also faces heavy opposition from power generators in the state.

An executive at NRG Energy tells the Journal, "That doesn't feel very fair in a laissez-faire competitive state like Texas. In a competitive market, the companies are supposed to bear the risk, not the consumer. This flips that on its head and guarantees profits to one of the world's richest men." 

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BERKSHIRE STOCK WATCH

BERKSHIRE'S TOP U.S. STOCK HOLDINGS - Mar 26 2021

Berkshire's top holdings of disclosed publicly-traded U.S. stocks by market value, based on today's closing prices.

Holdings are as of December 31, 2020 as reported in Berkshire Hathaway’s 13F filing on February 16, 2021, except for Apple, Bank of America, and U.S. Bancorp, which also include shares held as of December 31, 2020 as disclosed in New England Asset Management’s 13F filing on February 16, 2021.

In addition to U.S. stocks, shares held as of December 31, 2020 of China's BYD, as listed in Buffett's 2020 letter to shareholders, are included. The price of those shares in U.S. trading is used to approximate the current market value of the position. The value of the stake as a percentage of the company's market value is fixed at what was listed as of December 31, 2020 in the letter.

The full list of holdings and current market values is available from CNBC.com's Berkshire Hathaway Portfolio Tracker.

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-- Alex Crippen, Editor, Warren Buffett Watch