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Erin Douglas was the climate reporter for The Texas Tribune from 2020 through 2023 where she covered the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat, drought and hurricanes. She reported on the toll flooding takes on mental health, investigated a chemical fire at an industrial facility, and covered the collapse of Texas’ power grid that led to widespread blackouts across the state. Her coverage of the Texas blackouts in 2021 was recognized by the Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Erin was previously a business and economy reporter at the Houston Chronicle where she covered labor, energy and the environment. She studied journalism and economics at Colorado State University, and her first newsroom job was interning at The Denver Post, her hometown newspaper.
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.” Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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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. Full Story
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According to the terms of his employment contract, Bill Magness' severance pay would have been equivalent to one year of his current base salary. Full Story
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An independent market monitor for the Public Utility Commission of Texas wrote in a letter that the power grid operator kept market prices too high for nearly two days after widespread outages ended. Full Story
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Bill Magness is the latest official to depart following the winter storm catastrophe. Full Story
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On Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for PUC Chair DeAnn Walker and Electric Reliability Council of Texas CEO Bill Magness to resign. Full Story
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Who are the major players and how do they manage the power grid in Texas? Full Story
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In the power grid operator’s first board meeting since Texas’ power outages, a sixth ERCOT board member confirmed his resignation, and new details show that a shortage of natural gas fuel was a bigger problem last week than in 2011. Full Story
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