For Texans, fighting state-regulated oilfield waste dumps can be a costly, do-it-yourself effort
Some Texans who challenge oil and gas waste sites must spend significant sums and time on investigating what they say the Texas Railroad Commission should examine. Will new regulations for handling waste increase oversight or just maintain the status quo?
What’s changed since February 2021 to prevent another power grid failure? KSAT Explains
After the snow and ice of February 2021 had melted and power and water service finally returned, catastrophe turned to criticism. Lawmakers and power providers have since gone to work in hopes that it doesn't happen again.
Texas oil and gas agency investigating 5.4 magnitude earthquake in West Texas, the largest in three decades
The quake was the third largest in Texas history, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. An increase in seismic activity in Texas has been linked to injecting fracking wastewater underground.
Luke Warford tries to break the Republican hold on the Railroad Commission by focusing on the power grid and climate change
One of three seats on the Texas Railroad Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, is up for grabs this election. Democrat Luke Warford is betting his campaign on the issues of electric grid reliability, regulatory enforcement and reducing emissions.
West Texas rancher pours $2 million into Sarah Stogner’s underdog campaign for statewide oil and gas board seat
Ashley Watt, who owns a 75,000-acre ranch in the Permian Basin, is helping bankroll a substantial TV ad buy in the final two weeks before Stogner faces the Railroad Commission’s chair, Wayne Christian, in the runoff.
Analysis: A power test for Texas voters
After last winter’s near-statewide electric blackouts, Texas lawmakers went after regulators they deemed responsible but tiptoed around the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates oil and gas. Now voters have a chance, if they want it, to send the state a message.
400,000 Texas homes and businesses could lose power over financial dispute between energy companies
Vistra Corp. asked the Railroad Commission of Texas to prevent Energy Transfer LP from cutting off fuel to five of its power plants on Monday. Vistra said the power supply to at least 400,000 homes and businesses could be impacted.
Analysis: Betting a Texas election on a weather forecast
Gov. Greg Abbott says he can "guarantee" there won't be blackouts this winter in Texas after one that knocked out power for some people for four days last February. That's the kind of pre-election prediction that can make a weather forecaster more useful than a political poll.
Texas regulators pass rule aimed at preventing natural gas producers from having power cut off during future winter storms
But Texas oil and gas regulators addressed only part of the problem that led millions of Texans to lose power for days after February’s winter storm, and gas producers likely won’t be required to weatherize until 2023.
![Power companies required to better prepare plants for winter in first phase of rule approved by Texas regulators](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/L8GDRjMMtgbhrTqq3J5WYM_QpQY=/800x536/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/DFFSOURWKZD4DCCWREDJOTB4FU.jpg)
Power companies required to better prepare plants for winter in first phase of rule approved by Texas regulators
The state Public Utility Commission adopted a rule — which experts first recommended a decade ago following a winter storm — requiring power companies to use “best efforts” to ensure plants can operate in the winter.
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Oil industry helped handpick members of Texas advisory group for electric grid reliability, emails show
Oil and gas industry groups provided a list of names to the Railroad Commission for appointment to a council formed in response to the February power crisis. All four of the industry's top choices were selected.
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Sweeping legislation to overhaul state’s electricity market in response to winter storm heads to Texas House after Senate’s unanimous approval
The Texas Senate on Monday unanimously approved a sweeping bill that would overhaul the state’s electricity industry and infrastructure, including mandating that power plants prepare for extreme weather and outlawing risky indexed retail electric plans. Senate Bill 3, filed by Republican state Sen. Charles Schwertner of Georgetown, now heads to the Texas House where its prospects are uncertain. Experts say the process of retrofitting the state’s power plants for winter could be difficult and costly, but not impossible, depending on the types of upgrades eventually mandated by regulators. Known as TERC, the board coordinates state energy regulators, electricity generators and the natural gas fuel industry to ensure reliable gas distribution for electricity. The PUC regulates the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s main power grid.
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Texas’ natural gas and power generators would have to prepare for extreme temperatures under bill Senate committee approved
A bill that would overhaul Texas’ energy industry — including mandating weatherization for natural gas and power generators — was approved by a Texas Senate committee on Thursday. Many power generators and gas companies were ill-suited for the freezing temperatures in February, which led gas pipelines to freeze and power transmission to falter. AdA Texas House committee earlier this month passed a similar weatherization bill. “I’m convinced that we’re making a big mistake by attacking a problem that isn’t a problem, just because we feel like it is a problem.”Earlier this month, the state Senate scrambled to pass Senate Bill 2142. Dan Patrick, who leads the Texas Senate, called for the resignation of its three members in the aftermath of the winter storm.
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Oil and gas interests left to “self-regulate” in aftermath of winter storm as Texas politicians pile on to ERCOT
The political fallout from the long-lasting Texas power outages have hit both entities hard after Gov. AdYet politically powerful natural gas companies, along with their regulators, appear so far to have escaped the wrath of the governor and the Legislature. Natural gas is the largest source of generation on Texas’ grid, especially during the winter. Lawmakers spent relatively little time questioning natural gas production and transportation executives. During the House committee hearing, lawmakers asked Staples and natural gas pipeline companies to more aggressively prepare for emergencies.
![ERCOT: No energy source was safe from this week’s winter storm](https://www.ksat.com/resizer/KE0terLYiBliWzvj1k911AvfbqY=/1600x900/smart/filters:format(jpeg):strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/d1vhqlrjc8h82r.cloudfront.net/02-20-2021/t_3ba564d7310c411993beab235f3f74bc_name_image.jpg)
ERCOT: No energy source was safe from this week’s winter storm
SAN ANTONIO – Top officials of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, the agency that regulates the state’s electric grid, said Friday that no energy source was safe from the massive winter storm this week. AdThat choice kept the state’s electric grid from a possible catastrophic blackout, ERCOT officials previously said. (KSAT)The deadly storm has reignited arguments about the state’s energy plan, including whether it over invested in renewable energy sources. Still, wind energy accounts for less than a quarter of the state’s electricity, a figure that is lower in winter months, ERCOT officials said. AdThat supply, according to ERCOT officials, would have been just as vulnerable to the elements.
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Monday is your deadline to register to vote in the Texas primary runoff
Eddie Gaspar/The Texas TribuneTexans who want to vote in the upcoming Texas primary runoff election have until Monday, to register. Greg Abbott delayed the upcoming primary runoffs from May to July after the coronavirus pandemic hit the state of Texas. The other statewide Democratic primary runoff is for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory agency that oversees the oil and natural gas industry. Voters who voted in the Republican primary in March cannot cross parties and vote in the Democratic primary and vice versa. See the primary runoff ballot here and add key Texas 2020 election dates to your calendar here.
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Pipeline giant sues Railroad Commission, alleging lax oversight of natural gas flaring
A natural gas flare burns in Pecos County in West Texas. State regulations allow producers to flare gas for up to 10 days after they're done drilling an oil or gas well. But the commission ultimately approved Exco’s flaring extension request 2-to-1 on Aug. 6 with Commission Chairman Wayne Christian casting the lone dissenting vote. He added that it didn't make sense economically for the commission to force Exco to go through the motions to sell natural gas when it brings such a low price. “Natural gas flaring has long been recognized as wasteful and environmentally harmful,” the company said in its petition.