About $45 million will go to Texas towns with fewer than 1,000 residents — a boon for municipalities without a viable tax base.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Panhandle Wildfires
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.
Posted in
Hurricane Beryl
Weak infrastructure, distrust make communication during natural disasters hard on rural Texas
When disaster strikes, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy takes command of her county’s emergency communication channels, including a text service and Facebook page.
Posted in
Hurricane Beryl
Insurance rates could climb for some Texas coastal homeowners, businesses
Homeowners typically pay $2,300 a year for a Texas Windstorm Insurance Association policy. The rate increase would bump premiums by 10%.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Environment
In Beryl’s wake, heat-related Texas deaths climb after millions left without power
So far, 23 people have died after Beryl made landfall on July 8.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Energy
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.
Posted in
Environment
As the Rio Grande runs dry, South Texas cities look to alternatives for water
Many of the solutions are costly, putting them out of reach for small towns. But the region’s most populous cities are getting innovative.
Posted in
Hurricane Beryl
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.