Lawmakers grilled public regulators and energy grid officials about how power outages happened and why Texans weren’t given more warnings about the danger.
Mitchell Ferman
Mitchell Ferman covered energy and the economy from 2020 to 2022, based in Houston. Before joining the Tribune he was a reporter for The Monitor in McAllen, where he covered cross-border trade, politics and the city of McAllen. He also regularly freelanced from the Rio Grande Valley and beyond for The New York Times, Texas Monthly and Reuters, writing about topics including the family separation crisis and unexpected consequences of the border wall. He graduated from the University of Missouri.
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Winter Storm 2021
How Texas’ power grid works
Who are the major players and how do they manage the power grid in Texas?
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Winter Storm 2021
Winter storm could cost Texas more money than any disaster in state history
Lawmakers and analysts say it is too soon for an exact estimate, but the financial damage from the storm has left state lawmakers scrambling to account for the storm in the middle of the 2021 legislative session.
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Winter Storm 2021
ERCOT board members who live outside of Texas are resigning in the aftermath of the power outage, winter storm
Five board members, including the chair, who do not live in Texas will resign. A candidate for another position on the board has withdrawn his application. The vacancies will not immediately be filled.
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Winter Storm 2021
2 million Texas households without power as massive winter storm drives demand for electricity
Some utility companies that deliver electricity to Texans are telling customers to expect power outages through Monday night and potentially into Tuesday.
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Winter Storm 2021
Massive winter storm prompts disaster declaration and could stress Texas’ electric grid
Gov. Greg Abbott urged Texans to stay alert as the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings or watches for most of the state. Experts fear that electricity demand during the frigid temperatures could cause power outages.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
Texas lawmakers have denounced Joe Biden’s energy moves, but experts say they could benefit the state
A global push toward a cleaner climate and safer environment — from the free market and not just the White House — has not kept Texas lawmakers from criticizing the new president.
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COVID-19 Recession in Texas
“We do a lot of work”: Texas’ low-wage workers hope for more as Biden, Congress push minimum wage hike
The minimum wage in Texas pays $7.25 an hour, well below a livable wage and far lower than the minimum hourly pay in most states.
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Coronavirus in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott pushes Legislature to protect businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, unsuccessfully pushed for similar federal legislation. Abbott’s support comes as Texas intensive care units are filling up with coronavirus patients.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Texas House and Senate propose similar spending amounts in preliminary budgets
The proposals are about $7 billion over the amount Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said lawmakers have to spend during the 2021 legislative session.
