A bill to stop cities from banning natural gas as a fuel source for heating homes and other buildings is being advanced as priority storm-response legislation following the February power outages.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
Posted in
Energy
Texas power crisis prompts Texas House panel to advance several bills, including one requiring plants to prep for extreme weather
The bills, which include mandating weatherization of power plants, reforming the ERCOT board and creating a state emergency communications system, are “a work in progress.”
Posted in
Energy
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Biden administration demanding reinstatement of Keystone XL Pipeline permit
Twenty-one states signed onto the multi-state lawsuit led by Texas and Montana.
Posted in
Texas Legislature 2021
In oil-rich Texas, GOP lawmakers push bill to punish Wall Street for fossil fuel disinvestments
The bill would direct state investment funds to divest from companies that cut ties with fossil fuel companies, pitting Texas against some increasingly carbon-conscious Wall Street investors.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Just one Public Utility Commission member remains after another resignation in aftermath of winter storm
Shelly Botkin’s departure comes a week after the commission’s chair, DeAnn Walker, also stepped down.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Analysis: After the blackouts, a whiff of the 2022 elections in Texas
A proposed remodeling of the state’s electricity grid from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller might be more than it seems. It reads like a campaign’s position paper.
Posted in
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.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Watch: Texas farmers start to replant after winter freeze left “total devastation”
Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an organic farm near Austin, lost almost its entire crop during February’s devastating winter storm.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
U.S. House Oversight Committee investigating operator of Texas’ power grid
A subcommittee chair wrote in a letter to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas that the grid’s failures were “costly” and disproportionately affected low-income communities and communities of color.
Posted in
Winter Storm 2021
Texas workers struggle to pay for groceries and rent after losing wages during winter storm
Many hourly wage employees across the state lost working hours last week during the storm and power outage disaster. Now, they’re left with a choice between paying for rent or groceries.