Analysis: The Texas storms — actual and political — of 2021
Here are a dozen of my columns from 2021: highlights on the winter storm, redistricting, the state’s finances and on issues that could figure into this next round of elections. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol on June 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Generators can cause deadly carbon monoxide poisoning. But the industry resists rules to make them safer.
Portable generators are among the deadliest consumer products. Two decades after the government identified the danger, and as climate change leads to more power outages, people are left vulnerable by a system that lets the industry regulate itself. Full Story
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Texas electricity regulators say most power generation facilities are ready for winter. That alone won't stop a blackout.
In the first status report of how electricity companies are preparing for winter, electric regulators expressed confidence in improvements made since February’s deadly storm. But the changes address only part of the power grid supply chain. Full Story
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![Reliability Coordinator Mark Skipper monitors power use during a tour of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) c…]()
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Analysis: Texas’ electric grid is half-ready for another winter freeze
Chances are, winter weather won’t be as bad as it was last February. Chances are, Texas won’t have the electric blackouts that caused so much misery then. And chances are, whatever happens will have some influence on the 2022 elections. Full Story
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas energy regulators, gas industry try to reassure the public that the state’s power grid is ready for winter
As state regulators and the companies that power the grid take steps to avoid another catastrophe like February’s winter storm, climate experts say this winter will likely be milder. Full Story
Credit: Michael Gonzalez/The Texas Tribune -
TribCast: Texas braces for the next winter storm and a new COVID-19 variant
In this week’s episode, Matthew speaks with Mitchell, James and Karen about the status of the power grid and the pandemic heading into winter. Full Story
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![A long line wraps around an HEB Grocery Store in San Marcos where residents waited up to 3 hours for their groceries on Feb …]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Democrats see focusing on power grid failure as a winning campaign strategy heading into 2022
Republican leaders defend their record on the power grid, pointing to more than a dozen laws passed during this year’s legislative session to address the grid’s reliability. Gov. Greg Abbott has staked his reputation on a promise that the lights won't go out this winter. Full Story
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![The Texas Capitol during the winter storm on Feb. 16, 2021.]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Power lines along a row of homes in South Austin. Many residents experienced power outages due to the winter storm that roll…]()
Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune -
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. Full Story
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![Wayne Christian, Chairman of the Texas Railroad Commission, and Commissioner Jim Wright listen during an RRC hearing in the …]()
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We’re approaching the anniversary of the 2021 winter storm. Share your story with us.
We want to hear from Texans about how this catastrophic event is still affecting their lives. Full Story
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![A mobile home park is covered with snow as a massive winter storm continues to engulf Texas, causing widespread power and w…]()
Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune -
“People should probably be worried”: Texas hasn’t done enough to prevent another winter blackout, experts say
Natural gas powers the majority of electricity in Texas, especially during winter. Some power companies say the state’s gas system is not ready for another deep freeze. Full Story
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![Vistra Corp.’s Midlothian Power Plant opened its doors to media on October 15, 2021 to show the plant’s weatherization proce…]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Texas grid vulnerable to blackouts during severe winter weather, even with new preparations, ERCOT estimates show
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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![Snow surrounds an Austin Energy station in Austin on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2021.]()
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Democrat running for Texas agency that regulates the energy industry focusing his campaign on furor over power grid failure
Luke Warford, a 32-year-old former Texas Democratic Party staffer, is challenging Republican incumbent Wayne Christian for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission. Full Story
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Analysis: Texas Republican lawmakers pleased most of their own voters, most of the time
They didn't make a majority of Texas voters happy on a single issue, but the Republican majority in the Legislature made most of their own voters happy — and then drew maps that minimize political threats to them in the November general election. Full Story
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![Voters at the Alvord City Hall, an early voting site in Alvord on Oct. 28, 2020.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune -
Biden’s infrastructure plan will set aside about $35 billion for Texas projects
The funds will help advance existing plans, pay for much-needed repairs and launch other projects for roads, bridges, broadband access, electric vehicle charging stations and more. Full Story
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![An aerial view of Houston. Highways were empty as a result of the coronavirus outbreak . April 1, 2020.]()
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As world leaders seek to rein in methane, Texas' oil and gas industry pressured to cut emissions
A proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule could require oil and gas producers to monitor and reduce emissions of methane in the field. Full Story
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![A gas flare in the Eagle Ford oil patch south of San Antonio, TX.]()
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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. Full Story
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![Construction underway for Alamo I, a 41-megawatt solar farm being built by OCI Solar Power for its customer CPS Energy in Sa…]()
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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. Full Story
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![Smoke from a power plant in San Antonio on Aug. 4, 2021.]()
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Analysis: Texas legislators set the table for the 2022 elections
The controversial issues you’ve heard Texas lawmakers debate for most of the year aren’t going away; many of them will be argued all over again during the 2022 elections. Full Story
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![State Representatives on the House floor debate over amendments to HB 1 on Oct. 12, 2021.]()
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The Karankawa were said to be extinct. Now they’re reviving their culture — and fighting to protect their ancestors’ land.
Historians long thought the Karankawa people had disappeared. But now a group of descendants is fighting to protect a coastal area — where thousands of Karankawa artifacts were found — from an encroaching oil export facility. Full Story
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![Love Sanchez, of the Indigenous People of the Coastal Bend, participates in a prayer ceremony at McGee Beach in Corpus Chris…]()
Credit: Chris Stokes for The Texas Tribune
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