All lanes on Main Street in Richardson are now open during peak travel times, according to a news release from the city.

What you need to know: Construction on Main Street between Greenville Avenue and North Walton Street began last February. The $6.5 million reconstruction project includes paving improvements, water and sewer updates, new landscaping and streetlight upgrades.

Crews have completed striping work on Main Street and are now finishing sidewalk, landscaping and other infrastructure improvements, according to the release.

Area libraries throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area provided space for children and teenagers during the summer. Many offer summer reading programs and other scheduled activities for children and adults.

Allen Public Library
The library is running a summer program for all ages through July 31. The program is broken down by the following age groups: 0 to sixth grade, seventh to 12th grade and adults age 18 and up. Prizes and free books are awarded for preschoolers (ages 0 to 5), elementary school-age kids (kindergarten-sixth grade) and teens (seventh to 12th grade). Adults will be entered into a drawing for one of five prize bags.

• 300 N. Allen Drive, Allen
• Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Thursday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m, Friday-Saturday; 2-6 p.m., Sunday

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates the state power grid, overseeing the flow of electricity to over 27 million customers. Yet ERCOT does not directly participate in Texas’ electric market or own any of the facilities that deliver power across the state.

The big picture: Power generation plants, transmission facilities and distribution lines are owned by outside companies, meaning that local power outages are typically isolated and handled by individual companies, rather than ERCOT.

How it works: In 1999, Texas legislators passed a law deregulating the state’s retail electric market. The law was designed to “introduce competition in Texas’ electric market by allowing consumers to choose their retail electric provider,” according to ERCOT.

Previously, most Texas utility companies owned all aspects of the electric supply chain, including generation, transmission and the delivery of power to customers.

Today, approximately 85% of electric customers in Texas can choose their retail electric provider, including those across the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth regions. Customers in Austin and San Antonio get their electricity from municipally owned utilities.