Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is widening his investigation of price spikes during a deadly winter storm last month to include a signature piece of the state's energy industry: natural gas.
Opinion
It’s time for Texas to finally retire the Railroad Commission and PUC to create an energy agency
A combined power and fossil fuel regulatory agency might have avoided the power outages.
By Chrysta Castañeda
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No one will soon forget that Texas froze last month, vast portions of the state’s electric grid went dark, and millions of Texans lacked heat and running water for days. Many Texans died. Looking for answers, the Texas Legislature convened hearings for two long days. They summoned a dozen or more witnesses who sit atop corporate and government ladders with responsibility for the electric grid, most of whom accepted some shared responsibility for the failures.
Oil and gas interests left to “self-regulate” in aftermath of winter storm as Texas politicians pile on to ERCOT
Texas Tribune
Tags: A gas flare burns bright on a production site northeast of Andrews, Texas. From the natural gas wellheads in West Texas to the power plants that burn gas to generate electricity, multiple energy systems failed during the February 2021 storm in Texas that left millions without power for days.
Credit: Jerod Foster for The Texas Tribune
After being battered by withering criticism of its management of the power grid during last month’s winter storm, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas saw several of its board members resign and fired its CEO. The chair of the Public Utility Commission, which oversees the grid operator, was forced to resign.
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Ten years ago, 241 Texas power plants couldn t take the cold. Dozens of them failed again this year.
Neena Satija and Aaron Gregg, The Washington Post
March 6, 2021
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Homes in Austin, Texas were among millions across the state that lost power during the storm last month.photo for The Washington Post by Sergio Flores.
The corporate and municipal owners of more than 30 power-generation plants in Texas appear to have failed to adequately heed a decade of warnings to better prepare for deadly winter weather, contributing to their malfunctions or shutdowns during last month s historic winter freeze that led to statewide power outages and a humanitarian crisis.