The latest Texas Public Utility Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
Transitioning sources of electricity to cleaner fuels is one of the best tools humanity has to fight climate change — which brings severe weather that taxes the grid. But a year after the winter storm, Texas leaders aren’t talking about decarbonizing. Full Story
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With the height of the winter season approaching, here are some tips to prepare an emergency kit, protect your home and stay informed. Full Story
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He's been heavily involved in positive public messaging about the grid’s winter readiness, but the data aren't rosy — and experts fear the grid could fail if there's another winter storm. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The most severe scenario considered by ERCOT for this winter — very high demand for power, extensive fossil fuel outages, and low renewable power production — does not capture the amount of power lost during February. Full Story
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Next year’s primary elections start a year after a winter storm knocked out power across Texas — and the government response to that disaster could be on voters’ minds. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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The state plans to use past weather data to craft rules for power plant upgrades. Scientists warn that the accelerating effects of climate change make relying on old data alone insufficient. Full Story
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The state’s electricity regulators said they’re taking steps to assure a skeptical public that the power won’t go out again if Texas experiences extreme weather this summer. Full Story
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Lawmakers cannot pass laws to improve Texas’ power grid during the special legislative session. They’re discussing it anyway. Full Story
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The Public Utility Commission said the state's main power grid operator will have three days — instead of 60 — to release some information about power plant outages. But that may not include why the electricity generators were offline. Full Story
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A number of power plants were inexplicably offline at the same time that Texas was experiencing record June demand for electricity. ERCOT officials are still working to determine why. Full Story
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Texas lawmakers passed major bills in response to the winter storm power outages that killed hundreds of Texans in February. But there’s still a lot to do. Full Story
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While lawmakers took significant steps toward preventing another blackout, hardly any of the proposals passed during this legislative session will aid consumers in recovering from the February storm — but they’ll see higher utility bills. Full Story
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Several billions of dollars in state-approved financing will be necessary to stabilize the state’s distressed energy market after the winter storm. Texas approves more in finance bailouts for its utilities than any other state. Full Story
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The Texas House for hours on Sunday debated its proposal to better prepare for extreme weather. The chambers have a little more than a week to wrap up remaining work. Full Story
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Time is running out on a slate of other bills lawmakers are considering that stem from February's deadly winter storm. Full Story
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State lawmakers are now trying to change the way ERCOT is governed by requiring members to live in Texas and giving more board seats to political appointees — changes that experts say may do little to improve the power grid. Full Story
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The lower chamber gave initial approval Monday to a series of bills responding to this year’s catastrophic power outages during a deadly winter storm. Full Story
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