Bastrop Power & Light customers with solar panels will begin receiving credits for excess electricity sent to the city grid under new rules that will take effect Oct. 1.

The update: Bastrop City Council unanimously approved the ordinance during a Sept. 8 meeting.

As previously reported, customers will receive credits based on the city’s avoided cost of generation—what the city saves by not purchasing that electricity from its wholesale provider.

What else? Customers will also pay a monthly fee based on the size of their systems.

City officials said Aug. 11 that the amount had not yet been finalized and that an ordinance setting the fee would return to council before the city’s Master Fee Schedule is updated; however, no amount had been announced as of Sept. 16.

Something to note: City documents state new solar systems must be inspected, meet applicable codes and go through the city’s application process before connecting to the BP&L grid.

Unauthorized or noncompliant connections can result in fines of up to $1,000 per violation.

Three candidates are running to lead the Texas Department of Agriculture in the Nov. 3 election.

The details: Libertarian Austin R. Kelly, Republican Nate Sheets and Democrat Clayton Tucker are vying to become Texas' next commissioner of agriculture. The commissioner's duties include regulating agriculture, administering nutrition programs and providing rural economic development assistance.

How we got here: There is no incumbent in this race after Sheets beat sitting Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in the March Republican primary. Tucker ran uncontested in the March Democratic primary, while Kelly was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

The winner of the November midterm will be sworn in to succeed Miller in January.

Looking ahead: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30 in the midterm election, and Election Day is Nov. 3.

Texas does not have a single system to connect first responders in emergencies, meaning local and state agencies often operate on a network of radio systems that are not always compatible with one another.

The big picture: State leaders said there are more than 50 different radio systems used by first responder agencies across Texas.

"We have situations where counties and cities are on separate ones, and they never know it until they have to [communicate with] each other," state Rep. Ken King, R-Canadian, said during a Sept. 14 legislative hearing.

Looking ahead: King has vowed to pass a bill to integrate first responder communications under a statewide system during the 2027 legislative session, with some emergency management experts calling interagency communications "the No. 1 issue" in the aftermath of disasters.

"[This] is not simply a communication issue—it's a responder safety issue and an operational effectiveness issue," said Kyle Mills, head of planning and preparedness for the Texas A&M Forest Service.