The wide-ranging proposal includes a number of reforms that have been floating around the state Capitol since last month’s deadly winter storm left millions without electricity during freezing temperatures.
Texas Railroad Commission
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Texas’ chief energy regulator fiercely defended fossil fuels after historic blackouts. She also profits from oil and gas.
Railroad Commission Chair Christi Craddick and her father have financial ties to oil and gas. Other state officials who have oversight over the industry also had significant financial interests in it.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Paperwork failures worsened Texas blackouts, sparking mid-storm scramble to restore critical fuel supply
Dozens of natural gas companies failed to do the paperwork that would keep their facilities powered during an emergency, so utilities cut their electricity at the very moment that power plants most needed fuel. The mid-storm scramble to fix the problem exposed a regulatory blind spot.
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Winter Storm 2021
Oil and gas interests left to “self-regulate” in aftermath of winter storm as Texas politicians pile on to ERCOT
Politically powerful natural gas production and transportation companies, along with their regulators, appear to have so far escaped the wrath of the governor and the Legislature in the aftermath of the Texas power outages.
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Winter Storm 2021
Watch live: Texas House and Senate holding hearings about last week’s winter storm
Lawmakers will continue asking a litany of officials and executives how last week’s power outages happened. Legislators in both chambers spent more than 12 hours investigating the disruptions Thursday.
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Winter Storm 2021
“Power companies get exactly what they want”: How Texas repeatedly failed to protect its power grid against extreme weather
Texas regulators and lawmakers knew about the grid’s vulnerabilities for years, but time and again they furthered the interests of large electricity providers.
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Texas Legislature 2021
Toxic substance or water supply? Lawmakers to weigh whether wastewater from oil fields could replenish the state’s aquifers
A recent EPA decision will allow Texas to regulate water discharges from oil drilling operations. Some lawmakers see a future water supply for the state in the decision, while environmental groups — and some scientists — warn it could be risky.
Posted in
Texas 2020 Elections
Jim Wright wins Texas Railroad Commission race, extending decades of Republican dominance on the oil and gas regulating board
Wright defeated Democrat Chrysta Castañeda. The commission’s elected, three-member board has been entirely Republican for at least 25 years.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Democrats’ hopes of flipping Texas again fall short as Republicans dominate the state’s 2020 elections
This year proved another disappointment for Texas Democrats, who underperformed the high expectations they had set for themselves, particularly in a hotly contested battle for dominance in the Texas House.
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Texas 2020 Elections
Texas Democrats think a seat on the oil and gas regulating board could be their best chance of winning statewide in two decades
With attention on Texas races up and down the ballot, a virtually unknown Republican candidate and big-time donations to the Democratic nominee, Democrats think they have a shot of winning a seat on the Railroad Commission.
