Chevron to move its headquarters from California to Texas
The oil giant said it will relocate to Houston. It’s the latest company seeking a laxer, more business-friendly regulatory environment in Texas. Full Story
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![A Chevron oil exploration drilling site near Midland, Texas, on Aug. 22, 2019.]()
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Rural Texas officials and civic leaders discuss economic development, health care and water supply in smaller communities
The Tribune’s rural symposium highlighted the challenges the state’s far-flung regions face — and the opportunities they offer. Full Story
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Unregulated oilfield power lines are suspected of sparking Texas wildfires
No state agency is taking responsibility for making sure the privately built lines that power many oil and gas sites are safe. Such lines have been blamed for sparking two recent Panhandle fires. Full Story
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![Craig Cowden shows parts of his property that are negligent from oil companies using his land, Sunday, July 7, 2024, at Breezy Point Ranch in Pampa, Texas. Cowden has made numerous complaints about the live wires and trash on his property.]()
Credit: Annie Rice for The Texas Tribune -
CenterPoint CEO promises improvements as Texas scrutinizes company’s Beryl response
Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response. Full Story
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![CenterPoint President and CEO Jason Wells addresses the Public Utilities Commission
at a hearing in Austin on July 25, 2024. The energy company proposed action plans for improved customer communication and restoring power quickly in future outages.]()
Credit: Leila Saidane for The Texas Tribune -
Public Utility Commission releases investigative report on CenterPoint Energy’s Hurricane Beryl response
The company’s power outages in July have drawn the ire of state leaders. Here’s what you need to know. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
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A federal utility assistance program favors cold-weather states, giving less money to hot places like Texas
The program helps low-income people with heating and cooling bills, but advocates say it disadvantages Texas and other warm-weather states, even though extreme heat is a key cause of weather-related deaths. Full Story
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![Workers remove an AC unit from Paola Valdez-Lopez's mobile home in order to tow it out of Congress Mobile Home Park in Austin on Aug. 29, 2022.]()
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Residential solar is growing in Texas amid worries about reliable power during events like Hurricane Beryl
In Harris County, more federal money is available to help low- and moderate-income residents install rooftop solar. Full Story
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![Solar panels can be seen on the roofs of homes Sunday, July 7, 2024 in East Austin.]()
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Why Texas’ mass power outages continue to happen
Repairing electricity infrastructure after storms usually costs customers. So could strengthening it before the next weather event. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
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Houston property insurance is already expensive. Hurricane Beryl will make it worse.
Insurance researchers and analysts expect insurers will continue raising already high premiums — and become more selective with what type of damage they cover. Full Story
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![Mohammed Durvesh looks at the tree debris from tropical storm Beryl in front of his in Sugar Land home on Monday, July 8, 2024.]()
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Texans heading into a second week without electricity are battling heat, frustration and boredom
More than 200,000 CenterPoint Energy customers without power struggle with the heat one week after Hurricane Beryl swept through southeast Texas. Full Story
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![From left, Olga Minez and Gabriel Leal grill burgers for dinner on Sunday, July 14, 2024, at Aldine in Houston, Tx. In order to make the blackout more manageable, the couple and their five children have been using a generator left over from the previous year’s blackout.]()
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Abbott reprimands CenterPoint and calls for an investigation into the utility’s response to Beryl blackouts
Abbott demanded that the utility company produce a plan by the end of July outlining how it will improve power reliability ahead of future storms. Full Story
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![From left, front row: Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale hold a press conference at Gallery Furniture in Houston to address the restoration of power in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, on Sunday, July 14, 2024.]()
Credit: Douglas Sweet Jr. for The Texas Tribune -
“Get back up and go”: CenterPoint linemen take on a broken grid as Houstonians seethe
Beryl exposed how vulnerable the electric infrastructure is to failure, leaving residents angry and at risk. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
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“They need to fix something quick”: Texans without power for days are getting angry
Nearly a million Texans were still without power on Friday. And the utility company with the most outages was facing threats of violence. Full Story
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![Seby Godinho and Jack Souza run a convenience store without electricity in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl in Oyster Creek, Texas, on July 9, 2024.]()
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Days after Beryl, Texans toil to cope with debris, heat, rain and no power
More than 1 million Texans still don’t have electricity. For those hardest hit by Beryl, the wait will stretch into next week. Full Story
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![Community members drop off donated goods such as water and food to the Sargent Fire Department on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, in Matagorda County.]()
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CenterPoint exudes chaos, but also appears to be restoring power faster than it previously has
According to state filings, the utility is restoring power at a relatively quicker pace than after prior storms. Texans are still fed up. Full Story
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![Electric trucks line up to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
Credit: Joseph Bui for The Texas Tribune -
Texas leaders worry that Bitcoin mines threaten to crash the state power grid
Granbury residents are raising alarms over noise from a local Bitcoin mine, while state lawmakers warn that the energy-hungry facilities risk “crashing” the electrical grid. Full Story
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![Cheryl Shadden in her backyard with Wolf Hollow II in the background on Tuesday, June 11, 2024.]()
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Millions of Texans face third day without power in summer heat
Power companies and Texas officials say restoration efforts could take days. Experts say Texans without electricity are facing a dangerous situation. Full Story
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![Electric workers gather supplies to provide support with major power outages after Hurricane Beryl in Houston, on Wednesday, July 10, 2024.]()
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How to make your Texas home more energy efficient and get money from the government
Federal tax incentives are available to weatherize your house and switch to more energy efficient appliances. Rebates are coming. Full Story
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![Solar panels can be seen on the roofs of homes Sunday, July 7, 2024 in East Austin.]()
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Truckers hope protest over pay and lack of restrooms will spark a Permian Basin labor movement
Truckers say they can wait up to 18 hours without pay to load or unload fracking sand. The drilling sites often lack restrooms. Full Story
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![Cesar Adrian Gonzalez Lopez, a driver for Toreados Trucking LLC, a New Mexico based company, poses for a photo Wednesday, June 26, 2024 in Monahans.]()
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Texas to double $5 billion state fund aimed at expanding the power grid
The announcement came soon after a new prediction by the state’s main grid operator that power demands will nearly double by 2030 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 process. Energy providers like Vistra are preparing their plants for extreme weather conditions following the February winter storm Uri, which disrupted the Texas electric grid and led to the deaths of more than 200 people.]()
Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune